Currently, TikTok is contesting a federal law that would restrict the company unless it disposed of its ownership stake in China-based parent Bytedance. The company argues that such a ban violates First Amendment rights.

TikTok says,”It celebrates free expression and is used by about half of all Americans. Lower courts have acknowledged the concern of national security”. This concern was that the Chinese government could have the opportunity to access or manipulate the content of the platform.

How exactly would the TikTok ban work?

If the legal attempt of TikTok fails, and the company chooses not to sell itself, the ban will go into effect on January 19. This date is especially important because it is one day before President-elect Donald Trump would assume office. Legal experts think that the proposed ban would not be plus culprits the individual users of TikTok, even if the law comes into force.

The Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act does not target the foreign adversary. It only throws the existing app stores and hosting providers, which are important third-party companies, making TikTok functional. Once the ban comes into effect, the top app stores will be bound to take TikTok down from their stores. This means that any new user would not be able to download the application and existing users would not be able to receive updates. The law will also make it illegal for the hosting supplier to support TikTok.

Would TikTok users be able to access the app after the ban?

In the current situation, TikTok is very unlikely to look for paths to allow it to operate a modified user experience in the United States. Instead, probably, users will be left hanging with respect to the app and cut off from using it, similar to how India went about things post-ban in 2020. There will probably be quite a few hiccups and a reduction in app quality, and users will still be able to find alternative ways to access the application, workarounds, or something of the sort.

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