Washington — TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have asked the Supreme Court to temporarily pause a law that would ban the app in the U.S. as soon as Jan. 19.

"A modest delay in enforcing the Act will create breathing room for this Court to conduct an orderly review and the new Administration to evaluate this matter — before this vital channel for Americans to communicate with their fellow citizens and the world is closed," the emergency application said.

The move comes days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied TikTok's bid to delay the ban from taking effect pending a Supreme Court review.

TikTok and ByteDance asked the Supreme Court to make a decision on its request to delay the law by Jan. 6 so they can "coordinate with their service providers to perform the complex task of shutting down the TikTok platform only in the United States" if the justices decline.

This is a developing story and will be updated.