SILICON VALLEY, Calif. (KGO) — Time is ticking on TikTok.
A new bill signed on Wednesday by President Joe Biden starts the clock for China-based ByteDance to divest in TikTok or face a U.S. ban.
“Make no mistake, this is a ban,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew said on TikTok in response to the decision. “A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.”
Despite attempts in the past this is a ban that now has a clear path forward.
With national security in mind, President Biden signed a bipartisan bill that would require TikTok parent company ByteDance to divest OF the app.
If not, the app will face a nationwide ban that blocks updates and future downloads until TikTok essentially disappears.
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Congressman Ro Khanna has been against the ban from the start.
“I thought the ban of it was overbroad,” Khanna said “Let’s ban the Chinese-Communist party from interfering in algorithms. Let’s ban our data from going to China. But don’t ban the speech of Americans.”
Currently, 170 million users and 7 million businesses use TikTok in the United States and the company is growing.
Our partners at the Bay Area News Group report that ByteDance, which already has leases on Coleman Avenue, is subletting more space along the Coleman Highline for TikTok offices in San Jose.
A ban would leave these employees without a job.
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But Tech Expert Ahmed Banafa says TikTok’s Silicon Valley neighbors may stand to benefit.
“It’s going to be a boost for the other social media because the users are going to start switching to the other social media,” Banafa said. “But, it’s not going to happen over night.”
The bill gives China-based ByteDance no more than 12 months to sell the company before a ban and a legal battle would extend that timeline.
A fight TikTok CEO Shou Chew intends to have.
“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” Chew said. “We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again.”
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CSU East Bay Professor of Communications Nolan Higdon says TikTok has fared well in the courts in the past.
But this may not be the governments final attempt at regulation.
Higdon says this is the latest example of the Biden Administration targeting big tech… and it may not be the last.
“As we know, there’s a lot of bills sitting in congress right now, many of which that are expected to come up this year, but this could be the start of something big in big tech,” Higdon said.
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