A potential TikTok ban: What you need to know

On By Littum

TikTok faces a US ban as soon as Sunday, a move that could have far-reaching consequences for the social media landscape, popular culture and the millions of influencers and small businesses that rely on the platform for a living.

Here’s what you need to know.

US officials have long been concerned that the Chinese government could manipulate content or access sensitive user data through TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. That fear prompted Congress to pass legislation that would ban the social media platform unless it was sold to a government-approved buyer within 270 days.

Concerns about TikTok have been twofold. The law was crafted in secret by a small group of lawmakers and congressional staffers last year. The Biden administration helped them write the legislation and sent national security officials to brief lawmakers on the threat posed by TikTok. The House overwhelmingly approved the bill, and it passed the Senate as part of a package that included aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Biden signed it into law in April.

The law does not outright ban TikTok if ByteDance is unable or unwilling to sell the app. Instead, it says that app stores, such as those run by Apple and Google, and cloud providers such as Oracle cannot distribute the app.

For violating the law, these companies face penalties as high as $5,000 per user who is able to access the app. TikTok says it has 170 million users in the US – so the fines could add up quickly.

President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering an executive order to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States.

But it is unclear whether an order from Mr. Trump could effectively stop a ban. Legal experts said he could direct the Justice Department not to enforce the law or delay enforcement for a specified period, but it is uncertain how such an order would fare if challenged in court.

Another possible way to stop a ban would be to find a buyer, which would allow the president to extend the deadline by 90 days. The law says that there must be a viable agreement on the table, but no clear buyers have emerged. On Thursday, some lawmakers called on Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump to extend the deadline anyway.

TikTok has argued that a sale is impossible because TikTok is a global operation and China has already signaled it would block the export of its all-important video recommendation technology.