New legislation passed today regarding the immensely popular short-form video content app Tiktok, and the only way the app will continue is for the owners to sell or cease U.S. functions.

Late yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed a new law bill requiring ByteDance to sell its stake in the popular Social Media platform TikTok or the company would be forced to stop functions in the United States. President Biden signed the bill into law today. TikTok now faces a time limit of ‘about a year’ (a nine-month limit, but can be extended for 90 days if the President sees fit) for the parent company to sell its stake in the social media platform. The legal question remains regarding the First Amendment and how constitutional the ban would be if it took place.

President Biden said, “The path to my desk was a difficult path. It should have been easier, and it should’ve gotten there sooner,” regarding the turbulence the ongoing battle the U.S. and ByteDance have been having for years. TikTok declared that it would be fighting the ban in an X (formerly Twitter) post that said, “This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.” The rest of the post can be seen below.

TikTok has claimed that if the app faces a ban in the U.S., its 170 million users would be “devastated.” CEO Shou Chew has also posted a video response to X, condemning the decision to force ByteDance to sell the social media platform. Chew says, “This is a ban on TikTok, and YOU, and YOUR voice” in the video posted. Chew also claims, “Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere. We are confident and we will keep fighting for YOUR rights in the courts.”

Regarding a complete TikTok ban, fans must wait and see what happens next. The timeframe imposed by the incoming ban appears to be nine months, so certainly more information will be given before that time expires.