Is TikTok Getting Banned Tomorrow? Here's When The Ban Goes Into Effect
TikTok could be banned from the U.S. in as little as nine months.
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a bill that forces TikTok's Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the video-sharing platform by Jan. 19, 2025, CNN reported.
The TikTok ban will go into effect on that date if ByteDance has not made progress toward a sale.
The legislation allows Biden to extend the deadline by three months if he determines that a legitimate sales negotiation is already in progress.
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This means that ByteDance potentially has up to April 2025 to find a new owner for TikTok before the app is banned from the U.S. entirely.
If a ban does take effect, TikTok would be removed from Apple and Google's app stores, preventing new downloads.
While the TikTok app is unlikely to disappear from the phones of users who have downloaded it, it could become unusable over time as users would not be able to receive bug fixes, security patches and updates.
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But the Associated Press suggested that it may take "years" before the ban actually goes into effect due to potential legal action against the law.
(Photo : Martin Bureau/AFP via Getty Images)
TikTok CEO Shou Chew vowed to fight the legislation and promised the app's users that "we aren't going anywhere."
"We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts," Chew said in a video posted on TikTok Wednesday.
"The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail."
The CEO also assured TikTok users that "while we make our case in court, you'll still be able to enjoy TikTok like you always have."
In a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter), a TikTok spokesperson said the "unconstitutional law" would "devastate" the 170 million U.S. users and 7 million businesses with accounts on the platform.
"As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired," the spokesperson added.
Our Statement on Enactment of the TikTok Ban:
This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S.…— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) April 24, 2024
While many U.S. lawmakers fear that TikTok poses a national security threat to the nation, a number of TikTok creators and influencers who could potentially lose their livelihoods spoke out against the possible ban, arguing the app supports many small and medium-sized businesses and helps people find communities.
"You're taking away our First Amendment rights," Ophelia Nichols, whose TikTok account "shoelover99" has over 12.5 million followers, told NBC News.
"People don't understand. This is a community. It's a family," she added. "Whatever it is that you enjoy or that makes you smile, you will find someone else on the app that loves that too."
