A federal appeals court has upheld a mid-January deadline stipulated by a federal law that mandates TikTok to either be sold or face a ban in the United States. The decision came on Friday as the court denied a request from TikTok to delay enforcing the law until the Supreme Court examines their appeal against it.

Attorneys representing TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, are preparing to petition the Supreme Court. However, it remains uncertain whether the Supreme Court will take on the case, though legal analysts predict that the justices may engage with it because of the intricate issues it raises concerning social media, national security, and First Amendment rights. Additionally, TikTok is exploring opportunities for support from President-elect Donald Trump, who made commitments during his campaign to “save” the platform.

TikTok’s legal team sought an injunction after a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of the U.S. government, rejecting the company’s challenge to the law. The court described TikTok’s request for a delay as “unwarranted.”

The court’s unsigned order stated, “The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court.” This law, enacted by President Joe Biden earlier this year, compels ByteDance to divest TikTok to an approved buyer or face prohibition within the U.S. due to national security issues.

The U.S. government views TikTok as a potential threat to national security, citing concerns that ByteDance could be pressured by Chinese authorities to surrender American user data or manipulate content in favor of Beijing’s interests. TikTok has refuted these allegations, contending that the government’s argument relies on speculative risks rather than concrete evidence.

In their most recent appeal, TikTok’s and ByteDance’s attorneys sought a “modest delay” in the enforcement of the law, arguing that it would grant the Supreme Court time to review the case and also allow the new Trump administration to articulate its stance on the issue.

If the law remains intact, TikTok has indicated that the widely-used app could be shuttered by January 19, just before Trump potentially takes office again, affecting over 170 million American users according to the companies’ statements.

The Justice Department has opposed TikTok’s motion for a delay, asserting in a court document that a schedule was previously proposed to facilitate a Supreme Court review ahead of the law’s activation.

The ruling by the appeals court on December 6 aligned with the planned timeline referenced in the Justice Department’s filing.