In the case currently before the Court, TikTok has sued the U.S. government on First Amendment grounds, arguing that the law impermissibly chills free speech — both that of its users and the company itself. Attorney Noel Francisco told the Court on Friday that the ban constitutes “uniquely harsh treatment” toward ByteDance and TikTok.

The law that could ban TikTok is coming before the Supreme Court. The justices largely hold the app’s fate in their hands as they hear the case Friday.

The United States has been on the receiving end of Beijing’s political warfare for too long, and it cannot end this merely through case-by-case defensive legislation.