President Joe Biden signed a bill into law on Wednesday that would ban TikTok if its not sold within a year. The social media app is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
The measure is folded into a law that says the United States will provide aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
TikTok representatives have already responded.
“This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court,” the company wrote in a Wednesday statement on X following Biden’s signing. “This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.”
Will TikTok disappear from my phone?
Everyday users and creators won’t see a change just yet.
ByteDance has 12 months to sell its shares. If it fails to do so, it will be illegal for web-hosting services to support TikTok. This would force Google and Apple app stores to remove the video-streaming service from its stores.
Tens of thousands of users earn money using the platform, either through brand partnerships, advertising their businesses, or monetizing their content.
Emily Swift runs Darkslide Film Lab in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where she develops film by hand and posts videos of the process to her 67,000 TikTok followers. She earns an extra $6,000 per month selling her photos.
Of her last 250 orders, 166 came from people who found her on the platform, she told CNBC Make It.
“TikTok has allowed my business to keep our doors open, and the ban threatens my ability to continue to do so,” Swift said. “My livelihood is at stake.”
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