In a first for the social media industry, TikTok parent ByteDance must sell the platform or see it banned in the US.

Efforts to ban TiTok or force a sale began during the Trump administration. Although the effort failed, concerns about TikTok continued to grow, especially after it was discovered that ByteDance was using TikTok to surveil Forbes journalists, in addition to the many privacy missteps the company continues to make.

US lawmakers tied the ban to the $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. President Joe Biden signed the bill Wednesday.

ByteDance now has 270 days to sell TikTok, with a single 90-day extension possible if a deal is in the works. If a deal is not reached, app stores will be forced to remove the app once the deadline passes.

TikTok has already vowed to fight the ban, decrying it as “unconstitutional.”

This unconstitutional law is a TikTok ban, and we will challenge it in court. We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side, and we will ultimately prevail. The fact is, we have invested billions of dollars to keep U.S. data safe and our platform free from outside influence and manipulation. This ban would devastate seven million businesses and silence 170 million Americans. As we continue to challenge this unconstitutional ban, we will continue investing and innovating to ensure TikTok remains a space where Americans of all walks of life can safely come to share their experiences, find joy, and be inspired.

— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) | April 24, 2024

The successful passage and signing of the marks the start of uncharted territory for US companies. China has repeatedly vowed to retaliate if a TikTok ban was ever passed. Now that it has, it will not be surprising to see China ban any number of US companies.