“Make no mistake, this is a ban, a ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice,” Chew says in the video. “Politicians may say otherwise. But don’t get confused.” signed by Biden gives ByteDance nine months to sell TikTok, with a possible three-month extension if a sale is in progress. It would also keep ByteDance from controlling TikTok’s algorithm, which is credited with helping the app rocket in popularity.
To that end, Chew also seeks to reassure users that the app is not going anywhere anytime soon and to rally its users to weigh in publicly on how important TikTok is to them: With the legislation now law, it is only a matter of time before TikTok sues to stop it, and the countdown clock has officially started. As of writing, barring a court-issued delay, ByteDance will have until Jan. 24, 2025, to find a buyer, or risk having the app wiped away from U.S. users.