TikTok might be banned in the United States: What you should know and how it affects you

TikTok is sitting in a tough spot right now. Threats that the social media giant might have to either change hands or shut down are looming. Here’s what the possible TikTok ban really means for you.

Yesterday, a bill passed in the United States that would effectively ban TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, from allowing TikTok to continue operating as is. The bill allows for two options for the company to pursue.

One of those options is one that many users are concerned about – TikTok is banned in the US and shuts down forever. However, the other option outlined in the House-passed bill offers up a way for TikTok to continue operating in the US.

The bill effectively gives ByteDance a limited amount of time to find a buyer for TikTok to take the indescribably popular app off the company’s hands. The company would have a limited time period, of course. It would all come down to a five-month period during which ByteDance would need to offload the app. If the company doesn’t, TikTok must come off the market, including the Google Play Store and App Store.

This is all the result of growing concerns that ByteDance, a Chinese company, poses a security threat by operating the app in the US at such a large scale. Whether the company has shared data with the Chinese government is unproven. In any case, the US government is keen on removing the widespread social app from the parent company’s hands.

What does that mean for you?

If TikTok were to be banned from the Google Play Store and the App Store, along with other marketplaces, the effect would be easy to predict. Users would find one of the other many platforms to share their stories and ideas.

Currently, it doesn’t seem like Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube really offer themselves up as a like-for-like replacement for TikTok after a ban. However, each app shares a little similarity with the titan, such as the Reels features in Instagram and Shorts with YouTube. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that in the absence of TikTok, these apps would incorporate features that would seemingly be robbed from TikTok’s grave.

However, if TikTok were to be sold off in the five-month period given, the outcome would be a little less clear. We don’t know what TikTok would look like under a different company. Does it remain the same, or does it take on a completely new look that would set the app in motion to meet a fate not unlike the once massive Vine?

It’s impossible to tell, but the fact remains that a sold TikTok sets the foundation for any buyer to obtain a massive audience.

Currently, TikTok has not officially been banned in any capacity, and this bill hasn’t gone into effect. It would need to pass in the Senate and then be signed into action by the president. If that were to happen, it would then be up to ByteDance on how the next few months play out.