TikTok heads to court over US law that could lead to a ban on the popular social media platform [Video]

The U.S. government and TikTok will go head-to-head in federal court on Monday as oral arguments begin in a consequential legal case that will determine if – or how – a popular social media platform used by nearly half of all Americans will continue to operate in the country.

Attorneys for the two sides will appear before a panel of judges at the federal appeals court in Washington. TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, are challenging a U.S. law that requires them to break ties or face a ban in the U.S. by mid-January. The legal battle is expected to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was a culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China. But TikTok argues the law runs afoul of the First Amendment …