UPDATE: President Joe Biden has signed into law measures forcing ByteDance to divest from TikTok.
TikTok’s China-based parent company may have to sell the popular social media platform. On Tuesday (April 23), the United States Senate passed a bill requiring ByteDance to divest its stakes in TikTok within nine months or face the app being banned from U.S. stores.
Congress included the divestment requirement in a $95 billion security package that provides foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Joe Biden has indicated he will sign the bill into law. The ban could go into effect as early as January 2025, but Biden can grant an extension.
TikTok possibly losing access to the American market would likely have a major impact on the music industry. Many songs became hits thanks to users incorporating the records into dance and challenge videos.
Rappers Soulja Boy & Coi Leray Already Addressed Possible TikTok Ban
Acts such as Soulja Boy and Coi Leray previously commented on the possibility of a TikTok prohibition. In March, Soulja Boy reacted to the House of Representatives passing a TikTok-related bill. He joked, “I made 32K in one day this [is] why they tryna ban TikTok.”
That same month, Leray tweeted, “TikTok is not a streaming platform. And I never looked at it as one. I’m not worried. As long as you don’t take away Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, Tidal, [Audiomack], YouTube Music, Amazon Music, I’m good. Music and the love I have for it, is forever.”
ByteDance Will Likely Challenge Legislation In Court
Republican presidential candidate/former U.S. President Donald Trump backed a TikTok ban while in office, citing national security concerns, before flip-flopping to blaming Biden for the assumed outcome. If Biden signs the national security supplemental package, ByteDance will likely challenge the statute in court on First Amendment grounds.
In November 2023, a federal judge blocked Montana’s attempt to institute a state ban on TikTok, citing free speech concerns. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy ruled the ban “likely violates the First Amendment” and had a “pervasive undertone of anti-Chinese sentiment.”