Will TikTok be banned in the US?

TikTok is today facing the prospect of a US ban amid fears its Chinese owner poses a threat to national security.

Allegations have swirled for years that the Chinese Communist Party is using the video-sharing app to spy on its American users' locations and manipulate its algorithm to conduct influence campaigns. 

Following a bipartisan House vote 352-65, parent company ByteDance could be ordered to sell TikTok.

The decision is in the hands of senators who must weigh up whether the threat posed by TikTok is greater than the headache from the apps' estimated 170 million US users. A new owner must be found within 165 days of the bill being signed by the President. 

Here DailyMail.com explains everything you need to know about the possible ban...

TikTok is today facing the prospect of a US ban amid fears its Chinese owner poses a threat to national security. Pictured: Protestors holding signs in support outside the US Capitol Building

Following a bipartisan House vote 352-65, TikTok may now be ordered to vest from its parent company ByteDance

What is TikTok and how does it differ from other apps? 

TikTok is a social media platform which allows users to create, share and discover short-form videos. 

While all social media sites collect user data to target them with personalized content, TikTok is seen as having the most sophisticated algorithms.

The app tracks exactly how long a user stays on a video and whether they interact with it to decide what should feature on their 'For You' page.

It results in an addictive feed curated specifically for the user. Two-thirds of American teens use TikTok every day, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey. 

Who owns TikTok? 

TikTok is the creation of ByteDance, which was born in a Beijing apartment 12 years ago and has since grown into one of the world's biggest tech firms. ByteDance is worth around $225 billion, according to market intelligence firm CP Insights.

ByteDance launched TikTok in 2017, and the app took the world by storm, crossing a billion users in four years.

The app was an international version of Douyin, which was released in China in 2016 and now has hundreds of millions of users. 

The Chinese company says it has more than 150,000 employees in almost 120 cities around the world. A privately held firm, ByteDance does not release revenue and profit figures, but media estimates of its earnings put it on par with some of the biggest firms in the world.

In 2023, ByteDance's sales crossed $110 billion, Bloomberg reported in December, a figure greater than Chinese tech giant Tencent's estimated revenues that year.

What are the main privacy concerns with TikTok? 

The major argument is that China's government can use its influence over ByteDance to turn TikTok into an instrument of harm against American interests.

As well as learning what a user is interested in, TikTok also knows their unique internet protocol (IP), contact list and precise data location. Users must give permission for the app to see the latter two categories.

Critics say this information could allow Chinese officials to develop profiles of certain Americans and subject them to blackmail.

A 2020 executive order by then-President Trump also suggested China could use TikTok's data to 'track the locations of federal employees and contractors' and to 'conduct corporate espionage.' 

US national security officials are also concerned the app could shape public opinion by its strategic promotion of certain videos. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said the bill could be akin to opening 'Pandora's Box' and that the future implications the measure are unknown 

Why does the House bill seek to ban TikTok in the US? 

A large number of US lawmakers - Republicans and Democrats - are not convinced that TikTok is independent of Beijing despite being headquartered outside China.

The app has been a diplomatic hot potato between the United States and China since the administration of former president Donald Trump, who once wanted to ban it.

The latest bill in Congress aims to force the company to cut ties with ByteDance or be barred from the United States.

Its supporters say ByteDance as a Chinese firm simply cannot go against the wishes of Beijing, and can provide access to the data on more than 170 million American users for everything from spying to election influence campaigns.

These concerns have been echoed by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies -- including by the FBI director this week -- as well as regulators elsewhere.

TikTok is banned from government employees' work phones in the United States and several other nations including Australia and Canada over security concerns.

In 2020, TikTok was among hundreds of Chinese apps barred in India after deadly clashes on the country's border with China. New Delhi said at the time the bans were intended to defend against threats to its sovereignty.

TikTok sent this notification to users last week after the bill was introduced

What has been ByteDance's Response?

Both ByteDance and TikTok insists there is no risk to US user data. TikTok's CEO has told Congress that the firm has never been asked by the Chinese government for US user data nor has it provided it.

The company says it now routes all of its US traffic through infrastructure in the United States, and that it is deleting previously collected data. It has also said that Douyin employees do not have access to TikTok's US user data.

TikTok will take the fight against a forced break from ByteDance to the courts in the United States if the legislation is passed, according to Bloomberg.

US President Joe Biden will sign the bill if it passes Congress, the White House has said, though the chances of its success are uncertain given opposition in the Senate.

What happens next?

The Senate must first approve the bill, before it is signed by the President.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote: 'I urge the Senate to pass this bill and send it to the President so he can sign it into law.'

But the fate of the bill is uncertain in the more cautious Senate, where some are apprehensive of making a drastic move.

Who could buy it?

While some people have voiced an interest in buying TikTok's US business - among them 'Shark Tank' star Kevin O´Leary - there are a number of challenges including a 6-month deadline to get it done.

'Somebody would have to actually be ready to shell out the large amount of money that this product and system is worth,' said Stanford University researcher Graham Webster, who studies Chinese technology policy and U.S.-China relations. 

'But even if somebody has deep enough pockets and is ready to go into negotiating to purchase, this sort of matchmaking on acquisitions is not quick.'

Big tech companies could afford it but would likely face intense scrutiny from antitrust regulators in both the US and China. 

Then again, if the bill actually becomes law and survives First Amendment court challenges, it could make TikTok cheaper to buy.

'One of the main effects of the legislation would be to decrease the sale price,' said Matt Perault, director of the University of North Carolina's Center on Technology Policy, which gets funding from TikTok and other tech companies. 

'As you approach that 180-day clock, the pressure on the company to sell or risk being banned entirely would be high, which would mean probably the acquirers could get it at a lower price.'

What happens if ByteDance won't sell - or no-one wants to buy it?

If the Senate passes the bill, then TikTok will be banned - if ByteDance don't sell it to  US company. 

If that doesn't happen, then the app will be banned.