Biden signs a bill that could ban TikTok — but the #ForYou fight is far from over
Am I the drama?... Yes, TikTok, you are. President Biden signed a bill yesterday that could ban the social app or force its sale. But it doesn’t mean TikTok’s 170M American users will be booted from the #ForYouPage anytime soon. Chinese parent ByteDance has about nine months to sell TikTok, and legal challenges could stall the process even longer. TikTok has also said it’ll sue on free-speech grounds and try to block any sale.
Price tag: “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary and others have expressed interest in buying TikTok, but it’s unclear who could afford it. The Wall Street Journal estimates the app’s price tag at $100B+.
Without a sale: Apple and Google would be expected to remove TikTok from US app stores.
FYI: Congress has said that TikTok is a national-security threat that gives China access to Americans’ data. ByteDance argues that TikTok’s US version is separate from the Chinese version.
Everybody’s so creative… TikTok may be one of the first non-US apps to have put deep roots in America’s culture and economy. Its 7K+ US employees now face an uncertain future, and influencers say a ban could destroy their livelihood. While Instagram’s TikTok copycat, Reels, is thought to have about the same # of US users, TikTok has higher engagement rates and a knack for catapulting clips to viral status. Industries including beauty and retail have come to rely on TikTok’s ability to make E.l.f. lip stain or “Lightning McQueen” Crocs a viral must-buy.
Officials could widen their nets… Apps owned by Chinese companies (Temu, CapCut) have come to dominate US app stores, as geopolitical tensions between the US and China have intensified. With Biden having signed this bill into law, his admin might now focus its attention on any foreign app that makes them think, “That’s suspicious… that’s weird.”