The House approved a bill on Saturday that aims to prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States unless its Chinese parent company sells its ownership stake within a year. Despite this decision, the popular social media platform is not expected to disappear immediately.

House Republicans included the TikTok ban as part of a wider foreign aid package, a key priority for President Joe Biden with strong bipartisan backing in Congress for countries like Ukraine and Israel. This move expedited the ban process after a previous version of the bill had stalled in the Senate. In March, a standalone bill with a six-month deadline for selling TikTok passed the House with overwhelming support from both Democrats and Republicans, who raised concerns about national security due to the app's Chinese owner, ByteDance Ltd.

The revised legislation, approved by a 360-58 vote, will now move to the Senate following negotiations that led to a compromise.

However, even if the bill is enacted into law, ByteDance would have a one-year window to seek a buyer and is likely to contest the legislation in court, arguing that it infringes on the First Amendment rights of TikTok's millions of users. Legal challenges could significantly prolong the timeline outlined by Congress or potentially prevent the law from being enforced.

The company lobbied hard against the legislation, pushing the app's 170 million U.S. users — many of whom are young — to call Congress and voice opposition. But the ferocity of the pushback angered lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where there is broad concern about Chinese threats to the U.S. and where few members use the platform themselves.

"We will not stop fighting and advocating for you," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video that was posted on the platform last month and directed toward the app's users. "We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you."

The bill's quick path through Congress is extraordinary because it targets one company and because Congress has taken a hands-off approach to tech regulation for decades. Lawmakers have failed to act despite efforts to protect children online, safeguard users' privacy and make companies more liable for content posted on their platforms, among other measures.

The TikTok ban reflects widespread concerns from lawmakers about China.

Members of both parties, along with intelligence officials, have worried that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over American user data or direct the company to suppress or boost TikTok content favorable to its interests. TikTok has denied assertions that it could be used as a tool of the Chinese government and has said it has not shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities.

The U.S. government has not publicly provided evidence that shows TikTok shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government or tinkered with the company's popular algorithm, which influences what Americans see.

The company has good reason to think a legal challenge could be successful, having seen some success in previous legal fights over its operations in the U.S.. In November, a federal judge blocked a Montana law that would ban TikTok use across the state after the company and five content creators who use the platform sued.

In 2020, federal courts blocked an executive order issued by then-President Donald Trump to ban TikTok after the company sued on the grounds that the order violated free speech and due process rights. His administration brokered a deal that would have had U.S. corporations Oracle and Walmart take a large stake in TikTok. The sale never went through for a number of reasons; one was China, which imposed stricter export controls on its technology providers.

Dozens of states and the federal government have put in place TikTok bans on government devices. Texas' ban was challenged last year by The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which argued in a lawsuit that the policy was impeding academic freedom because it extended to public universities. In December, a federal judge ruled in favor of the state.

Various organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, have thrown their support behind the app. "Congress cannot strip away the rights of over 170 million Americans who utilize TikTok to express themselves, participate in political advocacy, and access information from around the globe," stated Jenna Leventoff, a lawyer for the group.

Starting from mid-March, TikTok has allocated $5 million towards TV advertisements opposing the legislation, as reported by AdImpact, an advertising monitoring company. These advertisements feature a variety of content creators, such as a nun, praising the positive influence of the platform on their lives and arguing that a ban would violate the First Amendment. The company has also urged its users to reach out to Congress, leading to some lawmakers receiving calls filled with profanity.

"It is regrettable that the House of Representatives is utilizing the guise of crucial foreign and humanitarian aid to once again push through a ban bill that would infringe upon the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, harm 7 million businesses, and close down a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy on a yearly basis," expressed Alex Haurek, a spokesperson for the company.

Nadya Okamoto, a content creator with approximately 4 million followers on TikTok, revealed that she has been engaging in discussions with other creators who are feeling "a lot of anger and anxiety" regarding the bill and its potential impact on their lives. The 26-year-old, whose company "August" sells menstrual products and is recognized for her advocacy in normalizing discussions around menstrual periods, earns most of her income through TikTok.