Everything TikTok users need to know about a possible ban in the U.S.

TikTok is trying to stop a forced sale or ban of the app. Here’s how and when a potential ban might affect you.

6 min
A collage with an image of a person on TikTok
(Illustration by Elena Lacey/The Washington Post; iStock)
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TikTok told a court Thursday that a law demanding a sale or ban of the app in the United States violates the Constitution and shows the Biden administration undermined negotiations to resolve security concerns.

What are the odds that TikTok will disappear? When? And what should you do in the meantime?

Possible TikTok ban

President Biden announced he has signed legislation to ban or force a sale of TikTok after Congress passed legislation to ban or force a sale of TikTok, delivering a historic rebuke of the video-sharing platform’s Chinese ownership.

What the bill does: The bill, which saw bipartisan support in the House and Senate, would require the social media app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell off the immensely popular app or face a nationwide ban. Here’s what you should know about the potential ban.

What’s next: The provision gives ByteDance roughly nine months to sell the wildly popular app or face a national ban, a deadline Biden could extend the deadline by 90 days. TikTok is expected to challenge the measure, setting up a high-stakes and potentially lengthy legal battle over the app’s fate.

Reactions: TikTok creators say a ban would threaten their lives and livelihoods, while young users of the app previously asked Congress why they aren’t focusing on “bigger problems.”