TikTok, the popular social media platform used by teenagers and adults worldwide, faces a potential ban in the United States in the coming months. President Joe Biden signed a package in April that included a ban on TikTok in the U.S. if ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, doesn’t sell the company within a year, according to CBS News. 

President Biden’s bill gives ByteDance nine months to arrange a sale, with an extra three-month period if a sale is in progress. This timeline means that if ByteDance doesn’t sell, TikTok will be barred from U.S. app stores, and ByteDance will be unable to update and debug the app, making it unusable in the U.S. after some time.

The ban comes amid rising fears of the national security threat that TikTok could pose to the U.S. Because TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, the biggest concern lawmakers have comes from a Chinese national law that forces companies to turn over information at any time, according to ABC News.

 TikTok has been under investigation by the federal government since 2020.  CNN states that there isn’t any public evidence the Chinese government has spied on people through TikTok, but the potential for the app to be used against the U.S. is still a risk. That’s why the federal government doesn’t allow TikTok to be accessed from any of its military bases, explains Attorney General of Virginia, Jason Miyares.

Another concern about the Chinese government’s involvement in the app is the potential for the spread of misinformation. CNN also found that TikTok repeatedly showed videos containing false claims in its first 20 search results. TikTok users are primarily teenagers and young adults, and China could use its access to TikTok’s algorithms to try to shape what users see on the platform. This can be done by removing content from the app promoting content preferred by the Chinese government. 

Miyares investigates TikTok and the risks it poses for American consumers. “Not only does [TikTok] suck up all your data and send it to a foreign adversary,” says Miyares. “[people] have to realize it is being used to manipulate the opinions of young people… I think young people should be concerned.”

Pushback against the ban largely comes from adolescents and small businesses across America. Banning the app would disconnect a user base of over 170 million users expressing their opinions and receiving information. Banning the app would also remove a marketing tool for over seven million small businesses that use TikTok, stated by CBS News. Those businesses would lose a platform where they advertise and promote their products.

Brooke Carulli is a sophomore at PA, and she uses TikTok regularly. She believes there is useful content on the platform for her everyday life. “I think we should keep [TikTok] because there are different aspects you can learn on it, like makeup, hair tips, and how to take notes for school,” she explained. 

Despite the possibility of losing TikTok, there is no shortage of social media apps ready to take its place. “I would guarantee probably within two to three years after TikTok if it is indeed shut down, there [will] be something else,” Miyares explains. “There’s going to be another app that emerges, because if you know anything about the tech industry, you know, it’s constantly being replaced. There will be something else in three to five years. That’s just how it works.”