With a ban on the table, what’s next for TikTok?

Early yesterday morning, President Biden signed into law measures to provide aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

The package also includes a stipulation that compels China-based tech giant ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, to sell the app within the next 9-12 months or face a national ban, kicking off what’s sure to be a protracted fight between the company and US government.

Why ban TikTok? Lawmakers point to two main reasons:

• The app is owned by the China-based ByteDance, raising fears that the data of TikTok’s ~170 million American users could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.
• There’s also a concern that the CCP could put its thumb on TikTok’s algorithm to influence US public opinion and promote its own interests.

TikTok maintains that it has never sent US user data to the Chinese government, and wouldn’t do so if it was requested. The app has also vowed to do all it can to stop the ban from being implemented, taking a page out of Dylan Thomas’ book to not go gentle into that good night.

This isn’t TikTok’s first existential rodeo. The app successfully fought to stay alive in 2020, when then-President Trump issued an executive order to block the app, thanks to the courts.

This go-round could be similar, since TikTok is preparing to legally challenge the bill on First Amendment grounds. And precedent falls on their side – a US judge in Montana in November blocked a state ban on TikTok, saying it violated the free speech rights of users.

• One potential issue: According to the NY Times, officials specifically crafted this ban with legal challenges in mind.

A sale could also get complicated. The price tag on TikTok is sure to be in the hundreds of billions, and any US-based company that could afford to purchase it – like Meta or Alphabet – would probably be blocked on antitrust concerns. Individuals like former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, former Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, and Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary are each reportedly working to put together bids.

Complicating matters even more is China. TikTok’s algorithm, aka its “secret sauce,” was created in the country, meaning Beijing would have to sign off on the tech being sold to a US company – which is about as likely as Mark Zuckerberg beating Michael Jordan in a game of 1-on-1🏀.

👀 Looking ahead… The 270-day clock is tik(tok)ing. As for the outcome when it reaches 0? Stay tuned.