Fight, Sell, or Shut Down: What’s Next for TikTok?

Congress pass a note this week thatforces TikTok to be sold or face a countrywide ban . President Bidensigned it into lawWednesday , starting a 270 - 24-hour interval timekeeper for TikTok to resolve its future in the United States . There ’s been talk about a ban like this for yr , but now it ’s in reality happening .

Bytedance , the owner of the app , has three path available : It can fight back the bill in Margaret Court , and if it bring home the bacon , then nothing changes ; Bytedance could sell TikTok US to a local owner , though probably without its addictive algorithm ; or , TikTok could just shut out down and give in to the forbiddance . Here ’s how each alternative would play out .

Bytedance Fights the Bill in Court

A TikTok spokesperson told Gizmodo , “ This unconstitutional practice of law is a TikTok ban , and we will challenge it in motor lodge , ” likely debate these bar impinge the First Amendment . Legal experts say banning TikTokwould impact the free speechof its 170 million American users , the app stores that express it , and TikTok itself . If Bytedance wins on this controversy , then the jurisprudence is neutralise and things go back to normal .

However , there ’s no guarantee that Bytedance wins in tourist court . While the company has a decent character to make , the United States has plenty of law that run afoul on constitutional rights for the interest of “ national security . ” That ’s incisively the argument the United States is making here . lawgiver have reportedly receive classified briefings that show how TikTok is a “ undercover agent balloon in Americans ’ sound , ” say the app share that information with the Chinese Communist Party . If the US can prove that in court , they might win . Then Bytedance will be leave with two options for the app .

Bytedance Sells TikTok to a U.S. Owner

The next most probable pick is that TikTok is sell to a U.S. possessor . The Informationreported Thursday that Bytedance was internally discussing how to trade TikTok US without its addictive algorithm . However , BloombergandReutersalso reported on the same sidereal day that Bytedance absolutely would not sell TikTok under any condition . So , take what you will from these contradictory account . Bytedance does n’t require to sell , but it ’s look at it if the other option is shutting down

It ’s estimated that TikTok could be worth anywhere from$20 billion to $ 100 billion . If the app does n’t amount with that seraphic , seraphic algorithm then it ’s probably worth nigher to $ 20 billion . But really , is the app worth anything without the algorithm ? Sure , it ’s a good name , and it has mountain of users , but if it blow to use then people will just leave ( See Twitter , now X ) .

If a sale does include the algorithm , the sky is the terminal point – how can you put a cost on something that has 170 million Americans addicted ? Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchintold CNBChe ’s putting a band together to buy TikTok . Mnuchin did not indicate who the other investors would be , and he has no experience run a societal media company . His canonic qualification are that 1 ) he ’s rich , 2 ) he has rich friends , and 3 ) he in all probability still has tie with the U.S. government . That makes him a middling strong front - runner .

President Biden and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.

President Biden and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.Photo: Ron Sachs/CNP/Bloomberg (Getty Images) / Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post (Getty Images)

In a cut-rate sale scenario , it ’s possible that Meta , Snapchat , Alphabet , or some other braggy tech company will corrupt TikTok . However , that probably opens them up to monopoly concerns . TikTok by itself is so dominant , so owning it and another social media weapons platform might be a non - starting motor . There are very few citizenry who could yield TikTok , and if Bytedance refuse to sell it , that leave just one choice .

TikTok US Shuts Down

If TikTok ’s sound challenge fails , and a sale does n’t go through , TikTok could just keep out down in the United States . This would separate the most democratic social sensitive app ever from the wealthiest user base on Earth ( Americans ) , so many people see this as unlikely . It would force Bytedance to walk away empty - handed and lose tens of billions of buck , but you have to remember , this is not just line of work , it ’s political as well .

It ’s a literal possibility that TikTok could simply be banned , one I do n’t think is being taken in earnest enough . China has already shun American societal spiritualist apps for just about a decade , most recently Threads and WhatsApp . American technical school companies suffer out on the intact Chinese market , but they do n’t sell their precious algorithms and name brand to companies oversea . That would strip America of its private-enterprise vantage around the world .

I cogitate TikTok is in a interchangeable spatial relation . sell its algorithm to the United States would be disastrous for Bytedance , and even deal the name could be debatable . TikTok is the first Chinese app to have a meaningful front in the United States . An straight-out TikTok proscription would seed the United States with frustration , which could be exactly what China wants .

Tina Romero Instagram