The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a law banning TikTok in the United States unless its Chinese parent company ByteDance sells the platform by Sunday.

TikTok has challenged the law, arguing it would violate free speech protections for the more than 170 million users it claims to have in the United States.

But that argument was unanimously rejected by the US Supreme Court, meaning TikTok must now find an approved buyer for the US version of the app or risk being removed from app stores and web hosting services.

The White House said it would be up to the administration of Donald Trump, who took office on Monday, to enforce the law. Trump vowed to make a decision "in the near future."

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, who is expected to attend Trump's inauguration along with other high-profile guests, said he wanted to thank the incoming president for his commitment to working with the app and keeping it available in the United States.

Last year, both Democratic and Republican lawmakers voted to ban the video-sharing app over concerns about its ties to the Chinese government. TikTok has repeatedly said it does not share information with Beijing.

The law passed last April gives TikTok owner ByteDance until January 19, 2025, to sell the U.S. version of the platform to a neutral party to avoid an outright ban.

This means that starting Sunday, Apple and Google will no longer make the app available to new users, nor will it provide any security updates to existing users — which could ultimately lead to the app being deprecated.

ByteDance has vowed not to sell TikTok and said it plans to shut down the app's U.S. operations on Sunday unless there is a reprieve.

The Supreme Court ruled without dissent that the law did not violate the First Amendment's protection of free speech.

The justices affirmed a lower court ruling upholding the regulation after being challenged by ByteDance.

"There is no question that for more than 170 million Americans, TikTok provides a unique and broad source of expression, participation, and community," the Supreme Court said.

“But Congress has determined that divestiture is necessary to address its national security concerns about TikTok’s data collection practices and relationships with foreign adversaries, and that concern is well supported.”

After the Supreme Court ruling, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement that President Joe Biden's position on TikTok has been clear for months: " TikTok should remain available to Americans, but only under U.S. or other ownership that can address the concerns. “Congress identified national security concerns when enacting this law. "

But she added that due to "pure timing," the president Recognizing that “action to enforce this law must lie with the next government that takes office on Monday”.

On Friday, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social: "The Supreme Court's decision was expected and everyone must respect it.

"My decision on TikTok will be made in the near future, but I will have to have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!"

He also revealed that he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping and discussed TikTok and other issues.

In December, Trump said he was "enthusiastic" about the app because it could help him reach younger voters in the 2024 election.

Trump's comments marked a U-turn in his stance during his first term as president when he was planning to enact a similar ban by executive order.

Ahead of the looming ban, content creators have been saying goodbye to their fans and have been speaking to the BBC about how it will affect their livelihoods.

“I went from being a waitress to owning a house, and it all started on TikTok,” said Drew Talbert, who has more than 5 million followers.

Kalani Smith, who has more than 3 million followers, called the ban "a slap in the face."

"Before TikTok, I was homeless and living in the back of a car. Using TikTok propelled me to where I am now," he said.

"Everyone is praying for some kind of miracle - it feels like the government has turned its back on us."

Kelley Heyer, who created the popular Apple Dance based on a Charli XCX song, said: "The government taking TikTok away is essentially the government taking away millions of people's jobs."

The ban comes at a time when the United States is highly concerned about Chinese espionage activities.

Cybersecurity firms say the app is capable of collecting data beyond what users are viewing on TikTok.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said authoritarian regimes should not have "unfettered access" to Americans' data, and the decision prevented China from "weaponizing TikTok to undermine U.S. national security."

China enacted a law in 2017 forcing Chinese citizens living abroad to cooperate with its intelligence agencies.

But Beijing denies pressuring companies to collect information on its behalf and criticized the ban. TikTok has repeatedly stressed that no one has asked it for the data.

The app argued that the law endangered free speech and would hit its users, advertisers, content creators and employees. TikTok has 7,000 employees in the United States.

Noel Francisco, a lawyer for TikTok and ByteDance, told the Supreme Court during arguments that the app is "one of the most popular voice platforms in the United States" and said the law would require the app to "shut down ” unless ByteDance sells the app.

“This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship,” the app’s CEO said in a post on TikTok after the ruling.

"We are grateful and happy to have the support of a president (Trump) who truly understands our platform."

April 24, 2024: Biden signed a bipartisan TikTok bill that gives Chinese parent company ByteDance six months to sell a controlling stake or face being banned by the United States.

May 7, 2024: TikTok filed a lawsuit seeking to block the law, calling it an "extraordinary infringement of the right to free speech."

August 2, 2024: The U.S. government has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the social media company of illegally collecting children's data and failing to respond when parents tried to delete their children's accounts.

December 6, 2024: A federal appeals court has rejected TikTok's request to overturn a law that would ban it or sell it in the United States starting in early 2025.

December 27, 2024: President-elect Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to delay an impending ban while he works on a "political solution."

January 10, 2025: The nine justices on the Supreme Court heard from lawyers representing TikTok and content creators who said the ban would violate free speech protections for the platform's more than 170 million U.S. users.

January 17, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law, which could have resulted in TikTok being banned within days over national security concerns.

January 19, 2025: TikTok has a deadline to sell its U.S. stake or face a ban. TikTok has said it will "shut down" on this day.