How would a TikTok ban in the US work? Would the app disappear from your phone?
The prospect of TikTok being banned nationwide in the US is becoming more of a reality. But how would it work and what would it mean for the app’s users?
There is a greater likelihood that the United States could ban TikTok for its roughly 150 million American users after a bill was approved unanimously by the Energy and Commerce Committee. The full House could vote on the legislation this week.
If passed, which appears likely, it would then be sent over to the Senate for consideration. President Joe Biden said he will sign it if it gets through Congress. So how would the ban work? Would it disappear from US users’ devices?
You might also be interested in: Does the bill targeting TikTok violate the First Amendment?
How would a TikTok ban in the US work?
The bill that could potentially ban TikTok in the United States is called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. It would make it illegal to distribute apps developed by ByteDance, and effectively ban TikTok, unless the platform is sold within 180 days from the bill becoming law.
If the ByteDance decides not to sell TikTok, the app would be banned from US app stores like Apple and Google as well as web-hosting services. If an app store violates the ban, it could be fined up to $5,000 per user.
The legislation would give discretion to Biden, and future presidents, to ban other apps owned by firms “controlled by a foreign adversary,” such as China, Iran, North Korea or Russia. However, the committee chair, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, says that the legislation is not “a blank check” for a president to “ban whatever apps they want.”
Would the TikTok app disappear from your phone?
The short answer is no. But since it would be illegal for companies to do business with TikTok, unless ByteDance divests itself from ownership of the app, it would basically mean a death by a thousand cuts for TikTok over time.
Users would no longer be able to download updates for the app, since Apple and Google would be barred from supplying them. That would mean over time TikTok would function more slowly, become buggy and eventually unusable.
Could you use a VPN to access TikTok? There are always cracks in any wall, however, using a virtual private network (VPN) may not be a sure-fire way to keep using TikTok for American users. Douglas Schmidt, an engineering professor at Vanderbilt told CNBC that “There will almost always be ways around this. It would just be a lot more difficult for the average person to do it without getting an advanced degree in computer security or something.”
Furthermore, Gerald Kasulis, a vice president at NordVPN, told the media outlet that technology exists which can detect users trying to access an app via a VPN. Not to mention that a user’s location would be discovered when app store credentials to download upgrades were asked for.