WASHINGTON DC, UNITED STATES - APRIL 20: In this photo illustration logo of TikTok is displayed on a mobile phone screen in front of The White House in Washington DC, United States on April 20, 2024. The U.S. House voted in favor of bill to effectively ban TikTok in the US - if it not bought by a US company - with a vote of 360-58. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Chile, the words “TikTok ban” have U.S. content creators losing their minds on social media! That’s because the Senate passed a bill on Tuesday (April 23) that threatens to ban the app unless its Chinese parent company sells it.
But what exactly does that mean for about 170 million American TikTokers?
Keep scrolling to find out and also see which rapper has already volunteered to buy the app! Here’s a hint: he likes being the first!
Earlier today (April 24), President Joe Biden reinforced the Senate’s vote by signing the bill forcing TikTok’s sale into law, per the New York Times.
The bill primarily highlighted the security concerns with ByteDance — which is based in Beijing –owning and operating the app. It argues that the Chinese government could force the app to hand over sensitive data about its millions of American users, such as names and visual recognition data.
According to the Associated Press, a set of Chinese national security laws that require organizations to assist with intelligence gathering poses the most risk. The Chinese government could compel ByteDance to abide by these laws.
There are also concerns about China spreading propaganda via the app and using other authoritarian government exercises to control ByteDance.
To be clear, the bill isn’t entirely focused on TikTok. Instead, it is a $95 million spending package that includes aid funds to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan while also containing words for the potential ban of the short-form video app. The package reportedly passed in a bipartisan 79-18 vote, with only 15 Republicans and three Democrats voting against the deal.
However, Biden signing the bill becoming law doesn’t mean the app will suddenly disappear from phones. Everyday users also won’t be impacted legally for using it after it’s banned.
ByteDance has six months to sell TikTok. The bill also allowed an additional three months if a sale of the app doesn’t progress. Then, if the sale is already in progress, the company will get another three months to complete it.
If the app doesn’t sell within those 12 months, the US government will ban TikTok from Apple and Google’s app stores, making it unavailable for download.
This would also mean that TikTok wouldn’t be able to send updates, security patches, and bug fixes, and over time the app would likely become unusable — not to mention a security risk.
However, with likely court challenges, this could stretch even longer, perhaps years, per AP. TikTok has seen some success with court challenges in the past, but it has never sought to prevent federal legislation from going into effect.
Meanwhile, Soulja Boy has already thrown his wallet at ByteDance’s lil’ issue. The ‘Pretty Boy Swag’ rapper inquired about the cost of the app on X (formerly Twiter). He shared his surprise at what he views as a lack of outrage at the “free speech” and “First Amendment” violation.
“I can’t believe yall just gon let them ban TikTok like that. And yall think it’s funny. If they do it to this app they can do it to any app or site. Not cool fr yall will see later,” he wrote.
Soulja claimed that TikTok is taking the top spot when it comes to any other platform. He added, “How much y’all want for TikTok? I’ll buy it.”
But Soulja may want to slow down because TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, says the company is planning to fight the ban in court. He warned users in a video that, “This is a ban, a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice. Politicians may say otherwise. But don’t get confused.”
See what else he said below.
Associated Press reporters contributed to this report.
