With Biden Signing TikTok Ban, Will We Lose Our Viral Black Videos Forever?

President Joe Biden signed a massive $95 million military aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan on Tuesday night. The package was signed against the backdrop of mass protests on college campuses, most notably at Columbia University, where students are demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

But nestled inside the package was another provision certain to be unpopular with younger voters — a likely ban on the popular social media app TikTok.

The legislation gives TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, roughly nine months to sell the company, or the popular app will be banned in the United States. Democrats such as Senator Tim Kaine (R-VA) have argued that the sale is necessary to protect U.S. privacy and that the Chinese government will approve the sale. “TikTok ain’t going away. There is no more capitalistic entity than an organization controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. They’re going to sell it,” Kaine told NBC News. However, experts told CNBC that it’s highly unlikely that the Chinese government would approve the sale.

The Root spoke to Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) about the potential TikTok ban last month. “I believe in regulation, but I believe in the type of regulation that is fair and across the board,” said Lee. “You don’t single out one company.”

Lee argued that Congress has a vested interest in regulating social media companies, noting the documented connection between social media usage and suicide in children. However, what they’re doing now is short sighted.

“If you’re going to start banning social media and dealing with First Amendment issues then you’ve got to look at the whole picture,” she said.

Presuming ByteDance doesn’t sell to a U.S.-based company, the earliest a ban would go into effect would be in January 2025, meaning the ban wouldn’t be active until after the 2024 election (read into that whatever you want).

Biden is also permitted to extend the deadline by an additional 30 days. And TikTok has threatened legal action — which could extend the deadline even further.