The House has just passed a ban on TikTok – What comes next?

The future of TikTok in the U.S. hangs in the balance as the House passed legislation that could lead to the popular social media platform being banned if its China-based owner, ByteDance, doesn’t sell its stake within a year. The bill is expected to pass in the Senate as part of a larger foreign aid package for Ukraine and Israel.

Lawmakers have expressed concerns about TikTok’s ties to China and the potential for the Chinese government to access personal data of millions of U.S. users. Despite TikTok’s efforts to rally its users to oppose the bill, it seems that their lobbying has not swayed opinions in Washington, D.C.

President Joe Biden has indicated that he would sign the bill, which focuses on providing foreign aid but includes the provision related to TikTok. If passed, the bill would give ByteDance nine months to arrange a sale of TikTok, with a possible three-month grace period.

Potential buyers for TikTok include Microsoft, Oracle, or private equity groups, but the sale could be complicated if ByteDance doesn’t include its core algorithms, which are crucial for the platform’s functionality. Rivals like Meta could benefit if TikTok is banned, with estimates suggesting that a significant portion of TikTok users could shift to Instagram and Facebook.

The timeline for the potential sale or shutdown of TikTok could coincide with the U.S. presidential inauguration, raising questions about how the next administration, particularly if former President Donald Trump wins, would handle the situation.