When could the proposed TikTok ban take effect?

(NEXSTAR) — While many have expressed their distaste for the potential TikTok ban progressing through Congress, the Senate appears poised to send the matter to President Joe Biden this week.

Earlier this year, the House passed a bill that would have banned TikTok if its China-based owner, ByteDance, didn’t sell its stake. It faced roadblocks in the Senate, however, and ultimately stalled.

Instead, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) merged an adjusted measure regarding TikTok with a $95 billion package that also provides aid to Ukraine and Israel. That measure would give ByteDance additional time to sell off TikTok.

The entire package was passed off to the Senate, which took it up on Tuesday.

“Let us not keep our friends around the world waiting for a moment longer,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday morning. The Senate could pass the package, combined into one bill, as early as Tuesday afternoon. If Republicans who oppose the legislation decide to protest and draw out the process, final votes would likely be on Wednesday.

If the bill passes and receives Biden’s signature this week — the president has already voiced his support for the overall measure — you won’t immediately lose access to TikTok.

Should the bill pass and be signed as-is, ByteDance would have 270 days to divest TikTok. The company could receive an additional 90 days if necessary, as long as there is a sale in progress.

If ByteDance doesn’t divest within that time frame, the ban would likely kick in sometime between January and April of 2025. At that time, TikTok would no longer be available in the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store, and you wouldn’t be able to update the app.

Users have found ways around similar bans, like using a VPN, USA Today reported. The situation may not reach that point, though. It’s likely that the ban, should it pass, would face legal challenges that could delay the 270 (or 360) day timeframe ByteDance would have to divest.

The company has indicated that it would likely go to court to try and block the law if it passes, arguing it would deprive the app’s millions of users of their First Amendment rights.

“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.”

Should it head to the market, TikTok already appears to have some interested buyers. Among those are “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary, who said last month that TikTok wouldn’t be banned “’cause I’m gonna buy it.” Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also previously shared that he was organizing a group to buy the app.

The app wouldn’t exactly be available at a discount. Analysts have estimated TikTok’s value at more than $100 billion, according to NPR. The outlet also reports that, because of China’s export restrictions on “content-recommendation algorithms,” a sale would need approval from the Chinese government.

For now, though, TikTok remains available to its 170 million U.S. users.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.