United States officials have warned about the risks of the popular social media platform TikTok for years. Now, a new law will give the government the authority to act on these warnings by banning one of the most popular apps in America.
But this doesn't mean TikTok will be banned immediately. At least, not yet.
Congress passed legislation on April 21 that acts as an ultimatum to ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant and TikTok's parent company – to sell to a company that isn't Chinese within one year or so, or face a ban on the app in the United States.
President Joe Biden has signed the bill into law, but TikTok could still challenge the new law in court.
According to legal experts, a potential ban as it is written may violate Americans' First Amendment rights by outlawing an app they use for free expression. They also warned that the government may be overstepping the Constitution by targeting a single company that it disapproves of.
