The clock is ticking on the popular app TikTok as President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that presents Bytedance, TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company, with an ultimatum: Either sell the app to an approved buyer within nine months or face a ban. 

The move to outlaw the app follows concerns over national security as US officials fear TikTok could be used by the Chinese government for data access and propaganda and while local TikTok users said they find merit in that point, some aren’t too pleased with the idea of a possible ban. 

A local user of the app, Dominick David said, “It would be tragic to see that go, 'cause it’s just another platform where people can learn things.” 

News of the possible ban is also getting passionate responses from tiktokers who say it may threaten their livelihood.  

“For some users like myself, I used to use TikTok for monetization purposes and also just to share the content and knowledge that I learned from other people,” said Nicole Raqueno.

Still, how soon a ban on the app might go into effect is murky, Bytedance has nine months to sell to an American buyer, but the President can also choose to push that deadline back by 90 days. 

Plus, should Bytedance sue to block the statute's implementation, while the case is under judicial review, the clock on the ban would be paused.