PALO ALTO, California — TikTok will lay down its argument in a U.S. appeals court on Monday to block a sell-or-ban bill that would shut down the popular short-video app if its Chinese owner ByteDance does not divest by Jan. 19.

TikTok argues the forced divestiture by the U.S. government is unconstitutional, as it violates 170 million American users’ right to free speech under the First Amendment and the guarantee of equal protection of the laws.