The social media app for videos isn’t going away from phones anytime soon. After the House passed a bill requiring the Chinese owner of the app, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a ban, the legislative process is still in its early stages. Subsequently, the bill will be presented to an unimpressed Senate, and President Biden will have to sign it into law. It may not occur even after that.
This is what to anticipate.
What comes next in the process of passing legislation?
The Senate, which has the authority to amend the legislation’s wording, must adopt the bill.
Already, several senators have expressed disapproval of the bill as worded. For instance, some are concerned that the law may violate a provision of the Constitution that prohibits Congress from enacting legislation that specifically targets TikTok and ByteDance because it specifically mentions them in its language. (Those who support the law claim that this won’t be a problem.)
Several well-known senators who could influence whether the bill is approved or not have shown no inclination to support it. The Democratic leader, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, has not stated whether or not he will put it to a vote. When questioned, his spokesperson remained silent.
In a statement, Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and the chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, stated that she would be meeting with colleagues in the House and Senate to discuss ways to move forward that uphold constitutional rights and safeguard civil liberties.
How likely is it that Americans will no longer be able to use TikTok?
Analysts predict that if TikTok is unable to find a buyer willing to pay a price tag estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars, a ban will become more possible. That should be challenging.
Whether ByteDance decides to sell or spin-off TikTok’s whole worldwide footprint or just its American operations could potentially determine whether the company decides to sell or divest. After a sale, the law prohibits communication between the two businesses, which might cause issues if a U.S. TikTok wanted access to the parent company’s algorithms or other international app versions.
If the bill is passed into law, will TikTok be instantly prohibited?
Last Thursday, President Biden declared that if Congress approved the plan, he would sign it. Even so, there wouldn’t be an instant ban if he did.
For the next six months, ByteDance will look for a buyer for the app. The prohibition won’t go into force if ByteDance finds a buyer who meets the government’s requirements in that time frame. Should this not happen, TikTok will no longer be available for download or updates will not be sent by app shops or web hosting firms.
Another possibility for a ban is if the Chinese government forbids TikTok from being sold. The new law has drawn criticism from China, and in 2020, Beijing seemed to be making efforts to enable it to prevent the transfer of TikTok’s algorithm.
Would something prevent a ban?
TikTok or another party will likely file a legal challenge in court if the House bill passes into law. While they wage that legal battle with the government, there may be a delay in the potential ban. In the end, a judge can completely reject the law.
If TikTok is blocked, would it vanish from my phone?
It doesn’t seem like the legislation that was approved by the House on Wednesday will allow the government to erase the TikTok app from your phone. When asked what would happen to versions of the app that were already installed on devices, the bill’s proponents did not answer right away.
Even if TikTok is already loaded, its blocking of app stores and hosting services from providing updates to the app or helping with maintenance might cause the app to stop functioning entirely or worsen the experience for current users.
How are my posts on TikTok going to fare?
The law mandates that TikTok allow you to download your videos and other content.
