WASHINGTON — Tucked inside the sprawling $95 billion national security package headed to President Joe Biden’s desk is a provision that could ban

Congress sends Biden a bill that could ban TikTok — after the 2024 election

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2024-04-24 14:00:07

WASHINGTON — Tucked inside the sprawling $95 billion national security package headed to President Joe Biden’s desk is a provision that could ban TikTok, with an important catch: It won’t happen before the 2024 election.

That means TikTok, which boasts 170 million American users, will remain a force throughout the campaign, providing a platform for candidates to reach predominantly younger voters. An earlier version of the bill could have banned the popular video-sharing app prior to the election, but recent changes mean Congress and Biden may not face such an immediate voter backlash.

The new legislation provides nine months for TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell it or face a nationwide prohibition in the United States. The president can grant a one-time extension of 90 days, bringing the timeline to sell to one year, if he certifies that there’s a path to divestiture and “significant progress” toward executing it.

Even without the extension, the earliest a ban could start is January 2025. With the extension, it would be April. And with TikTok threatening legal action, the matter could get tied up in the courts for even longer. It’s a shift from an earlier House-passed bill that included a six-month window that could have triggered a TikTok ban before the November election.