President Joe Biden has enacted a foreign aid package that includes legislation threatening to ban TikTok if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, does not divest the app within a year.

The law sets a deadline for ByteDance to make a move, initially giving the company nine months to finalize a deal, with a possible three-month extension if progress is seen.

This means the earliest TikTok could be banned is January 2025, or April if the extension is granted. However, legal challenges from TikTok could further delay the process. The legislation differs from an earlier House bill, which had a shorter timeline that could have led to a ban before the November election.

According to a senior Republican aide, Senate Democrats pushed for the longer timeline, with a Democratic source acknowledging that the election played a role in setting the deadline.

TikTok intends to contest the law in court, potentially prolonging the timeline if enforcement is delayed pending a resolution. There are also uncertainties about China's response and whether it will allow ByteDance to sell TikTok, including its valuable algorithm, which is crucial for the app's user engagement.