On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate advanced a bill that would give ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, nine months to sell up the U.S. portion of the app or risk a nationwide ban. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that he will sign the bill into law.

This is probably what TikTok will experience after this.

The TikTok Clock Commences

Following Biden’s signature on the measure, ByteDance has 270 days to sell TikTok. Near the end of the nine-month period, if ByteDance appears to be on the verge of divesting, the president may provide an extra ninety days to complete any sale.

The 270 days will end around the inauguration of the next US president on January 20, 2025, if the bill is signed into law this week as anticipated. Biden, a Democrat running for reelection, or Republican front-runner Donald Trump will have the option to decide to extend the clock by three months.

TikTok Files Claims

TikTok is anticipated to file a lawsuit to overturn the bill as soon as it becomes law. It is also anticipated that TikTok’s attorneys would request a preliminary injunction from the court.

In order to pursue its entire legal challenge to the law’s constitutionality, TikTok would want an injunction to stop the law’s enforcement. It seems improbable that the legal proceedings will conclude by the end of the year.

Similar legal steps were taken by TikTok last year in Montana to prevent the app from being banned, and a preliminary injunction was granted in that state. Both TikTok and its users will file separate lawsuits to block the U.S. bill, if that scenario serves as any indication of the company’s intentions towards the United States.

According to the bill, the only court to hear challenges to laws is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

How Much Time Will All Of This Take?

The forced sale procedure is stopped if TikTok is successful in getting a preliminary injunction from the court, which would allow TikTok additional time to continue operating legally in the United States.

The courts stopped Trump’s attempt to outlaw TikTok and the Chinese-owned WeChat in August 2020, when he was still the president. Biden removed many executive orders from the Trump administration that attempted to prohibit new WeChat and TikTok downloads in June 2021.

Following widespread arrests during protests at a few, largely East Coast, universities in recent days, pro-Palestinian student rallies spread to other American college campuses on Tuesday.

Will Anything Change on TikTok?

For its 170 million American users, nothing should change on the TikTok app between now and the first four months of 2025, when the divestiture period ends.

What Is Said by the Chinese Authorities?

Prior to being exported, a number of technologies have to be approved by the Chinese government. TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, according to experts, would be included in this list.

(Adapted from ThePrint.in)

Categories: Economy & Finance, Geopolitics, Regulations & Legal, Strategy