What to Know About the Potential TikTok Ban

TikTok faces a U.S. ban as soon as Sunday, a move that could have sweeping consequences for the social media landscape, popular culture, and millions of influencers and small businesses that rely on the platform to earn a living.

Here’s what you need to know.

Why is TikTok facing a ban?

U.S. officials have long been concerned that the Chinese government could manipulate content or gain access to sensitive user data through TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Those fears prompted Congress to pass legislation that would ban the social media platform unless it was sold to a government-approved buyer within 270 days.

Who is responsible for the law?

The concerns about TikTok have been bipartisan. The law was crafted in secret by a small group of lawmakers and congressional staff members last year. The Biden administration helped them write the legislation and sent national security officials to brief lawmakers about the threat from TikTok. The House overwhelmingly approved the bill, and it passed the Senate as part of a package that included aid for Ukraine and Israel. President Biden signed it into law in April.

What happens next?

The law doesn’t ban TikTok directly if ByteDance is unable or unwilling to sell the app. Instead, it says that app stores, like those operated by Apple and Google, and cloud providers like Oracle cannot distribute the app.

For violating the law, those companies face penalties as high as $5,000 per user who is able to access the app. TikTok says it has 170 million users in the United States — so the fines could add up quickly.

Is there any chance to save TikTok?

President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering an executive order to allow TikTok to continue operating in the United States.

But it’s unclear if an executive order by Mr. Trump could effectively halt a ban. Legal experts said he could direct the Justice Department not to enforce the law, or delay enforcement for a set period, but how such an executive order would fare if challenged in court is uncertain.

Another possible way to halt a ban would be to find a buyer, allowing the president to extend the deadline by 90 days. The law says a viable deal must be on the table, but no clear buyers have emerged. On Thursday, some lawmakers urged Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump to extend the deadline anyway.

TikTok has claimed that a sale is impossible because TikTok is a global operation, and China has already signaled it would block the export of its all-important video-recommendation technology.