Oral arguments start today in a case between the US government and TikTok.

According to AP News, the case will determine if – or how — the social media platform used by nearly half of all Americans will continue to operate in the US.

TikTok is challenging a law that will see it banned in the US unless China-based parent company ByteDance sells the social media app within nine months.

The measure – signed into law by President Biden in April – was prompted by concerns that US users’ data is vulnerable to exploitation by China’s government.

TikTok and ByteDance have always denied links to the Chinese authorities.

TikTok also argues the law runs afoul of the First Amendment while other opponents claim it mirrors crackdowns sometimes seen in authoritarian countries abroad.