Over the weekend, the US House of Representatives passed a new foreign aid bill that included the divest-or-ban law for TikTok, which forced the Senate to pick it up with urgency, and it was passed and signed by President Biden on Wednesday. Now, what does ByteDance plan to do? Well, they aren’t selling.
Despite many reports saying that ByteDance is looking to potentially sell TikTok, albeit without the algorithm which is what makes TikTok, TikTok. ByteDance has zero plans to sell the app.
Multiple sources have told Reuters that ByteDance would rather shut down the app than sell it if the company is unsuccessful in fighting the legislation. However, the company is currently focused on fighting this law in court, where TikTok might get the upper hand. Seeing as the courts overturned a TikTok ban just two years ago.
When could a TikTok Ban go into effect?
The earliest that a TikTok Ban could go into effect would be January 2025. However, it could be moved back to April 2025 if a one-time extension is granted. Legal experts, however, believe that it will take longer, with TikTok threatening legal action.
Obviously, the timeline of this ban coincides with the US Presidential Election this fall. With the deadline being in January 2025, that would mean the app would be banned before Biden leaves office if he does not win re-election.
Former president Trump, who actually signed an executive order in 2020 to ban TikTok if ByteDance did not divest within 45 days, but it was later blocked in court, has been on the side of not blocking TikTok. It really makes you wonder what made him change his tune. Trump has been attempting to leverage this ban to gain some Biden supporters over to his side on Truth Social.
Keep in mind that TikTok is already banned in India. It is also banned from a number of state government and military personnel devices. So a nationwide ban doesn’t seem as crazy as it might have in the past.