Is Your FYP DOOMED?! Congress Just Voted on a CRAZY TikTok Ban! (What This Means for YOU!)

On Tuesday, Congress finalized legislation that could initiate a nationwide ban on TikTok, intensifying the threat to the company’s operations in the US.

The bill passed the Senate as an element of a comprehensive foreign aid package aimed at bolstering support for Israel and Ukraine. It received approval from the House on Saturday and is now awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature. Once signed, TikTok would either need to secure a new owner within a few months or face a complete ban in the United States.

Here's what we know about the legislation and its potential impact:

What does the TikTok legislation entail?

The bill, recently passed, is an updated iteration of a previous House-approved bill from March. It grants TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, a 270-day window to divest TikTok. Failure to comply would result in severe repercussions: TikTok would be barred from US app stores and from utilizing internet hosting services necessary for its operation.

This would effectively curtail new app downloads and user interaction with its content. If signed promptly, the deadline for divestment would be in January 2025. However, the legislation also allows President Biden to extend the deadline by an additional 90 days if he deems progress has been made toward a sale, potentially extending TikTok's timeline by up to a year before facing a ban.

How did this become part of a bill concerning foreign aid?

The initial TikTok bill had passed the House but encountered obstacles in the Senate. House Republicans strategically appended the revised TikTok bill to the foreign aid package as a procedural maneuver, aiming to compel the Senate to vote on the TikTok legislation. By bundling it with the foreign aid, a priority for the US government, the TikTok bill was expedited and its passage became more probable.

Will Biden endorse the TikTok bill?

Given that the bill is integrated into the foreign aid package, which Biden has strongly backed, it is anticipated that he will swiftly sign it. Moreover, Biden has previously expressed support for earlier iterations of TikTok legislation, indicating little reason for him to oppose this updated version, which grants TikTok a slightly extended timeline for divestment and affords the White House additional involvement in the sale process.

What does this mean for my use of the app?

Once Biden signs the bill into law, TikTok will have 270 days to find a buyer. If it fails to separate from ByteDance within that timeframe, TikTok users could potentially lose access to the app by January. However, this outcome is still uncertain. For now, TikTok enthusiasts can continue using the app as usual, although they might notice more creators or the company itself speaking out against the legislation.

What are TikTok’s options?

TikTok has stated its intention to challenge the US government in court if the bill becomes law. In a memo to employees on Saturday, a senior TikTok executive emphasized that this legal action would mark just the beginning of a prolonged effort to contest what the company perceives as unconstitutional legislation that stifles Americans' freedom of speech and harms small businesses reliant on the app. TikTok CEO Shou Chew previously pledged to persist in this fight by utilizing the company's legal rights.

Does TikTok have a case?

Experts in First Amendment law suggest that a bill effectively censoring TikTok users could be invalidated by the courts. Nadine Farid Johnson, policy director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, highlights that longstanding Supreme Court precedent safeguards Americans' right to access information, ideas, and media from abroad. Banning TikTok, she argues, would infringe upon this right without significant benefits, as foreign entities could still acquire Americans' sensitive data through other means.

A legal challenge could result in the legislation being temporarily halted while the litigation unfolds, a process likely spanning several years. However, if a court declines to issue a temporary injunction, TikTok may need to swiftly adapt to comply with the law.

So what if TikTok gets sold to someone else?

The challenge lies in TikTok's status as a subsidiary of a Chinese company, subject to Chinese regulations. China has introduced export controls covering algorithms in recent years, potentially including TikTok's highly successful recommendation engine. If the Chinese government opposes relinquishing TikTok's algorithm, it could block the sale altogether. Alternatively, it might permit the sale but without transferring the valuable algorithm that underpins the app's popularity.

Can TikTok still thrive without its algorithm? This would pose a significant dilemma for the company in the event of a forced sale. Without the proprietary technology that has propelled TikTok to 170 million users in the US, the app's future viability could be severely compromised.