Biden Signs TikTok Ban
ByteDance has 270 days to review, meanwhile it is preparing an appeal on First Amendment grounds
ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, is expected to sell the popular social network within 9 months. President Joe Biden has signed an ultimatum for the platform: find a buyer in the USA or he will ban it in the country.
The deadline for the sale is January 19, 2025, although a 90-day extension is possible if the company is actually negotiating a sale by that date.
Biden’s ratification came a few hours following Congress’ decision, after which Shou Zi Chew, CEO of ByteDance, said: “Rest assured, we’re not going anywhere. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we hope to prevail again.”
TikTok has 170 million users, over a billion worldwide, with a presence in 150 countries, not China. Washington’s concerns stem from the Chinese government’s potential control over sensitive data collected by the app, especially popular among teenagers. According to some analysts, this provision could be declared unconstitutional because it restricts freedom of expression: ByteDance could appeal to the First Amendment to the US Constitution.