TikTok and US face off in court over law that could lead to platform ban

TikTok faced off with the US government in federal court on Monday, arguing a law that could ban the platform in a few short months is unconstitutional while the Justice Department said it is needed to eliminate a national security risk posed by the popular social media company.

In a more than two hour appearance before a panel of three judges at a federal appeals court in Washington, attorneys for the two sides -- and content creators -- were pressed on their best arguments for and against the law that forces the two companies to break ties by mid-January or lose one of their biggest markets in the world.

Andrew Pincus, a veteran attorney representing the two companies, argued in court that the law unfairly targets the company and runs afoul of the First Amendment because TikTok Inc. -- the US arm of TikTok -- is an American entity. After his remarks, another attorney representing content creators who are also challenging the law argued it violates the rights of US speakers and is .