Trying to Understand the “TikTok Ban” | anderegg.ca

On April 24, President Biden signed H.R.815 into law. This bill includes the “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.

I started writing this post on Wednesday after hearing the news, but things got busy. I’ve been reading posts and listening to podcasts where people have been discussing this for several days now. This post is my attempt to try and get some of my thoughts on the matter straight.

First off: I am definitely not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. This is just my read on the act because I was curious about how it worked. I’m also not a US citizen, so please excuse any Canadianisms. That said, the text of the act is fairly short and I found it easy to read. Please let me know if I’m misrepresenting anything.

The act defines a “foreign adversary controlled application” as an app or website where one can make an account, upload content, has more than 1 million monthly active users, and is controlled by a “foreign adversary” of the United States. This category of app isn’t banned by default, but can be banned if the President of the United States thinks they’re a national security threat. I found it interesting that this also affects source code distribution. Apps focused on “product reviews, business reviews, or travel information and reviews” are exempt.

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