What Happened?

TikTok is a popular short video app that has become very widely used in recent years by many different people. It allows people from all over the world to connect and share opinions and ideas by uploading short videos that can be accompanied by music or text. However, TikTok has recently come under scrutiny from many people in the United States government. In the past, there have been many talks of a ban on the app. This all came to a head in mid-March when it was reported that the House of Representatives had voted to approve a bill that could result in the ban of TikTok. Many users were surprised and upset when they learned that one of their favorite social media apps could be taken away from them. But people quickly realized that they still had TikTok available on their phone and no official was telling them to delete it. This led to a lot of questions, questions you might have. Will TikTok be banned? If so, why? And when? What does the law say?

Why Is The Government Worried About TikTok?

A primary reason that the government grew concerned about TikTok and its operations is because of the company that owns it. TikTok is owned and controlled by a Chinese company called ByteDance. This causes concern because there is a law in China that says that the Chinese government can require information and data to be given to them by Chinese companies and citizens. This could lead to the Chinese government obtaining lots of personal information about American citizens. TikTok has created a plan to try to keep U.S. user data in a different area than the rest of its operations. That plan is, and has been, under review by a panel for many years. The U.S. government is also concerned about the spread of misinformation on the app, or the promotion of videos that have a specific viewpoint in an attempt to persuade users to believe a certain idea.

What Does The Law Say?

The law does not say that TikTok will suddenly and immediately be banned in the United States. The bill says that ByteDance has nine months to find a company to buy TikTok from it. That nine months could be extended to up to twelve months by President Biden. The sale also has to be signed off by the U.S. government, and ByteDance would not be allowed to have any connection to TikTok or control over it. If these requirements are not met within nine to twelve months, then it would be illegal for app stores to allow TikTok to be downloaded or to allow the app to update. While the law will not force the app off of Americans’ phones, the app would not work as well because it would not receive any app updates.

So What Now?

In late April, the bill was passed by the Senate. It was then signed into law by President Biden. As of Wednesday, April 24th, Byte Dance had nine to twelve months to sell TikTok.​​ However, several bumps could make the sale of TikTok difficult. Firstly, TikTok is expected to try to challenge the constitutionality of the law in court by arguing that it violates the First Amendment right to free speech. Secondly, there is not a large pool of companies that could afford to purchase the company. Some of those who could not be allowed to purchase it because it would create a monopoly. Thirdly, it is possible that the Chinese government could choose not to allow TikTok’s technology to be sold. However, if all of these obstacles are overcome, then TikTok could be owned and operated by an entirely different company, but would still be allowed in app stores.