House Votes on Potential TikTok Ban (Again): What’s Next?

House Lawmakers Pass Legislation Threatening Nationwide TikTok Ban

House lawmakers have once again approved legislation that poses a significant threat to TikTok’s operations in the United States. This move could expedite the implementation of a proposal that TikTok has been vehemently opposing for weeks, potentially leading to a forced sale or an outright ban on the popular social media platform.

The recent House vote has reignited concerns regarding TikTok’s future in the US. If successful, the legislation would grant TikTok approximately nine months to sell its operations, with the possibility of a 90-day extension if progress toward a sale is deemed satisfactory by President Joe Biden.

In my opinion, TikTok should not be banned in the USA, even though such a ban may benefit the platform.

Doing so would be contrary to freedom of speech and expression. It is not what America stands for.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 19, 2024

– The extended timeline for a forced sale has garnered support from previously skeptical lawmakers.
– Washington Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, now supports the legislation.
– House Republicans strategically bundled the TikTok bill with a broader foreign aid package.
– The inclusion of aid provisions for Ukraine and Israel makes it harder for lawmakers to oppose the TikTok measure.
– The strategic bundling increases the chances of the TikTok bill passing.
– The Senate theoretically has the option to vote on the foreign aid package without the TikTok language.
– However, analysts deem this outcome unlikely due to the priority placed on swiftly approving the aid package.
– Modifying the bill in the Senate would require House approval, leading to further delays.

Therefore, it is more probable that the Senate will consider the entire package in a single vote, aligning with the intentions of House Republicans. Policy analysts estimate the likelihood of Senate passage to be as high as 80%, and the vote could occur within one to two weeks, with Senate leadership aiming for an even faster timeline.

If the Senate approves the TikTok legislation, it will proceed to President Joe Biden’s desk. The fact that Biden endorsed the previous version of the bill suggests he may promptly sign any foreign aid package containing similar provisions targeting TikTok.

In such a scenario, TikTok would have 270 days to find a buyer. Failing to separate from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could result in the app being discontinued for US users. However, this outcome is uncertain, and TikTok users can currently continue using the app as normal. Nevertheless, they may start to observe increased advocacy from creators or the company itself opposing the legislation.

TikTok’s options include complying with the legislation or challenging it in court, a possibility the company has openly acknowledged. TikTok and various civil society groups have criticized the House legislation as unconstitutional, arguing that it infringes upon users’ First Amendment rights to access lawful information.

Legal experts assert that a bill effectively censoring TikTok users could face judicial challenges. The recent revisions to the legislation’s language may impact its chances of surviving constitutional scrutiny. If TikTok takes the matter to court, the implementation of the legislation could be temporarily blocked during the litigation process, which may extend over several years.

However, if a court does not grant a temporary injunction, TikTok would be compelled to swiftly comply with the law. The complication arises if TikTok is sold to another entity since its Chinese parent company falls under Chinese jurisdiction, and the Chinese government has expressed opposition to a sale.

China has enacted export controls that cover algorithms, potentially encompassing TikTok’s highly successful recommendation engine. If the Chinese government refuses to allow ByteDance to relinquish TikTok’s algorithm, it could block the sale entirely. Alternatively, it may permit the sale but without the valuable algorithm that underpins the app’s popularity.

The viability of TikTok without its algorithm would be a critical question the company would face in the event of a forced sale. Without the secret sauce that has propelled the app to amass 170 million US users, TikTok’s future prospects could be bleak.