Washington DC - TikTok asked the Supreme Court on Monday to temporarily block a law that would force its Chinese owner to sell the hugely popular platform or shut it down a month from now.

The appeal to the nation's top court came on the same day that TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew met with US President-elect Donald Trump, according to an NBC News report.

At a press conference Monday, Trump said he has "a warm spot" for TikTok and that his administration would take a look at the app and the potential for a ban.

The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, would block TikTok from US app stores and web hosting services unless its owner ByteDance divests from the app by January 19.

TikTok asked for the move to be put on hold while it challenges a lower court ruling that upheld the law – the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act – potentially with an appeal to the Supreme Court itself.

TikTok asked the nation's top court to make a decision by January 6.

"Congress has enacted a massive and unprecedented speech restriction," TikTok, which claims to have more than 170 million monthly US users, said in its filing with the Supreme Court.

Should the law come into force, it would "shutter one of America's most popular speech platforms the day before a presidential inauguration," TikTok said.

"This, in turn, will silence the speech of Applicants and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, arts, and other matters of public concern."

"Applicants – as well as countless small businesses who rely on the platform – also will suffer substantial and unrecoverable monetary and competitive harms."

The potential ban could further strain US-China relations just as Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20.

Despite trying to ban the app during his first term, Trump has emerged as an unlikely backer of TikTok, arguing that blocking the app would mainly benefit Facebook and Instagram's parent company Meta, which banned him from its platforms after the January 6 Capitol attacks.

The US government has alleged without providing evidence that TikTok allows Beijing to collect data and spy on users, while also spreading propaganda, something China and ByteDance have strongly denied.

A three-judge US appeals court panel earlier this month unanimously upheld the law's premise that TikTok divesting from Chinese ownership "is essential to protect our national security."