Embattled TikTok in jeopardy as President Biden signs legislative ban

The ByteDance-owned TikTok faces an uphill battle in the United States after President Joe Biden signed a law this week forcing it to sell to a U.S. company or be banned outright.

Biden’s signature was the final stroke needed to pass the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, originally introduced by U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL). While ostensibly introduced to make it illegal to own, distribute, or update social media apps designated foreign adversary controlled applications unless exempted, the act explicitly targeted the Chinese internet technology company ByteDance, which has become a focal point of Capitol Hill in recent years.

Lawmakers have attempted to pass various versions of a ban on the video-sharing platform TikTok for years, but after Biden signaled his support for such a move, and the House tied it to a foreign aid package, the bill moved swiftly through Congress.

“This bipartisan bill is a victory for the American people and the United States’ national security,” U.S. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) said. “The Chinese Communist Party should not use an app to surveil, target, and manipulate American citizens. With this bill set to become law, TikTok will face a choice: separate from Communist China-controlled ByteDance or shut down in the United States – it’s that simple.”

ByteDance will have nearly a year to divest its popular app or be banned. So far, the company has struck a defiant tone, though, promising to take the law to court. Its defiance has been backed by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which argued the government hasn’t justified banning TikTok. Supporters of the bill have argued its necessity on national security grounds, though, despite ByteDance’s claims of its unconstitutionality.

“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said in a post to X – formerly Twitter – after the law passed. “The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.”

For years, lawmakers from both parties have raised concerns that Chinese authorities could milk ByteDance for U.S. user data, or influence them by either suppressing or promoting specific content. While public evidence for this has been lacking, and it is little different from other social media companies in that area, the crux is that the wide-reaching app is led by a Chinese company at a time of high tensions between the United States and China.

A sale is nowhere near guaranteed, either, given that a company valued in the billions, like TikTok, will have select few buyers able to take on the challenge. In 2023, the company touted more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, with a revenue of $120 billion.

ByteDance officially has nine months to sell the app, although the president can grant a one-time, 90-day extension if the company proves it is working to divest.