Emily Baker-White is in the middle of writing a book.

Would you describe yourself as a last minute up to the deadline kind of person, or are you

do it ahead of time?

I'm not a last minute up to the deadline person.

But in this particular case, one cannot

finish a book about a story that is literally happening right now.

Emily's book is about TikTok, and one of the most important chapters in TikTok story is happening

right now at the Supreme Court.

The justices hear oral arguments on Friday about whether TikTok will be banned in the United States. The ban was signed into law this spring and is set to take effect on January 19th.

And the Supreme Court would have to stop the law from going into effect by issuing a ruling.

And it seems that the Supreme Court really wants to hear arguments and have the case fully briefed in time

that they can prevent the law from going into effect if they decide that they want to.

Emily, who's a reporter for

Forbes, has been covering TikTok for years. And that means covering all the back and forth in Washington

and across the country about whether the app, which is owned by the Chinese company Bite Dance,

is a national security risk. And now we have this make-or-break case. It's worth noting that the

Supreme Court takes about 1% of the cases that come up to it. And it has taken this case. And that just

sort of shows how big a deal this is. The Supreme Court doesn't touch most things. They say the lower court's ruling stands leave us alone, and they didn't do that here,

because this is a case that has huge ramifications for a huge number of people.

Yes, the 170 million Americans who use TikTok, but also anyone who cares about free speech.

Today on the show, this is it, the TikTok band's big moment in court.

I'm Lizzie O'Leary, and you're listening to What Next TBD,

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