Countdown to a Ban on TikTok in the United States

AsianFin—The U.S. legislature on Tuesday night finalized the legislation that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok, a popular China-owned short video sharing platform, unless it is sold to a U.S. government-approved buyer.

The U.S. Senate passed the bill by a vote of 79 to 18 as part of a comprehensive foreign aid package providing assistance to Israel, Ukraine and other U.S allies. The proposal now heads to U.S. President Joe Biden's desk. It had been approved by the House last Saturday. Biden has expressed support for the foreign aid package and indicated his intention to sign the TikTok bill, suggesting it will likely be enacted into law in the near future.

When Biden signs the bill into law, it would start the 270-day countdown for TikTok to find a buyer. If it can’t separate from its parent company ByteDance, then TikTok users could hypothetically be cut off by January.

TikTok boasts over 170 million users in the United States and holds significant economic and cultural influence. Advocates for the measure have voiced their apprehensions regarding the company's ownership structure, suggesting it could potentially grant the Chinese government access to American users' data—a claim flatly refuted by TikTok.

TikTok has vowed to pursue legal action against the U.S. government should Biden sign the bill into law. In a memo sent to employees on Saturday, a senior TikTok executive said that this would mark the "beginning, not the end" of a protracted process to contest what the company perceives as unconstitutional legislation that infringes upon Americans' speech rights and poses a threat to small businesses reliant on the app.

For now, TikTok fans can continue using the app as before, though they might begin to see more creators — or the company itself — speaking out in the app to oppose the legislation.

The push to force a TikTok sale has already generated speculation about potential buyers, including a group of investors brought together by a former Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin; large American corporations; or a coalition of private equity firms, according to The New York Times.

The trouble lies in the fact that TikTok's parent company is beholden to Chinese law, and the Chinese government has openly opposed the sale. Over the past few years, China has enforced export controls that extend to algorithms, a policy that covers the highly effective algorithm driving TikTok's recommendation system.

There's speculation that if the Chinese government refuses to permit ByteDance to divest TikTok's algorithm, it could outright block the sale. Alternatively, it might consent to TikTok's sale but without transferring the valuable algorithm, which serves as the foundation of its popularity.

The sell-or-ban approach has sparked concern among those for digital rights. They worry that the United States' stance may compromise its position as a promoter of an open and free internet that isn't subject to control by individual countries.

“It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans,” TikTok said in a statement last week.

Momentum has been building for years. U.S. lawmakers have closely examined the connection between TikTok and Beijing-headquartered ByteDance amid fears that it could expose American user data to potential surveillance by the Chinese government.

The White House had told federal agencies in February 2023 to delete TikTok from government devices. The next month, House lawmakers grilled Shou Chew, the chief executive of TikTok, about the app’s ownership and China’s potential influence.

In an effort to address these concerns, TikTok has put forward a strategy known as Project Texas, aiming to protect U.S. data by storing it with the American tech giant Oracle. However, as discussions between TikTok and the federal government stalled, lawmakers revived efforts to pass legislation granting the executive branch authority to impose restrictions on the platform.

In March 2024, the House Energy and Commerce Committee proposed a bill demanding that TikTok sever its connections with its parent company ByteDance or risk a sweeping ban in the United States. Although the bill, supported by the White House, was approved in March, the Senate did not take any action. By including the bill in the aid package, lawmakers aimed to compel the Senate to take immediate action.

A broader, government-imposed ban that blocks Americans from using the app could face legal challenges on First Amendment grounds, The New York Times reported, citing Caitlin Chin, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

After all, large numbers of Americans, including elected officials and major news organizations like The New York Times and The Washington Post, now produce videos on TikTok. It is a place where users share artwork, information and opinions about political topics like abortion rights, said Caitlin.

A court challenge could lead to the measure being temporarily blocked while the litigation likely plays out over multiple years. But if a court declines to grant a temporary injunction, TikTok could have to scramble to comply with the law, according to First Amendment experts.

India banned TikTok in 2020, resulting in a significant loss for ByteDance as India is one of its largest markets. The Indian government's crackdown extended to hundreds of Chinese-owned apps, with allegations that they were clandestinely sending users' data to servers abroad.

Various countries and governmental entities, such as Britain and its Parliament, Australia, Canada, the executive arm of the European Union, France, and New Zealand's Parliament, have taken steps to ban TikTok from official devices.