President Biden Endorses Legislation That Would Abolish TikTok In The United States

A bill that would prohibit TikTok if China-based parent company ByteDance is unable to divest the app within a year was signed by President Joe Biden as part of a package of foreign aid.

With the passage of the divest-or-ban measure into law, ByteDance's timeline has begun. The corporation was initially given nine months to negotiate a deal; however, if the president saw improvement, he might extend that period by an additional three months.

The earliest a ban might take effect, even in the absence of the prolongation, is January 2025. By virtue of the extension, April would arrive. Additionally, the situation may become much more entangled in the legal system given TikTok's threat of legal action. This is different from an earlier law that was enacted by the House that included a six-month window in which a TikTok may have been triggered.

Democrats, according to a top Republican aide, were to blame for the shift. According to the aide, "Senate Democrats had been pretty consistent about wanting to extend that timeline."

According to a Democratic source familiar with the matter, the election was "definitely" something that the new date "conveniently addressed."

Due to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg, TikTok intends to dispute the rule in court. Should the courts postpone enforcement of the law until they reach a decision, this might ultimately result in an extension of the deadline. The question of China's reaction and whether it will permit ByteDance to sell TikTok and, more significantly, its highly sought-after algorithm that attracts users to the app still remains.