The US and TikTok have been wrapped in a legal battle, with the former trying to ban the social media app out of the country. So far, there hasn't been a lot of progress, and TikTok has been allowed to operate normally. However, the biggest threat to the app has just passed through the Senate, and users have a single silver lining that may save the app from a nationwide ban.

The Senate passes a bill containing a TikTok ban

As reported by the Washington Post, the US Senate recently approved a large bill containing different proposals for foreign aid. Part of the bill contained a ban on the TikTok app, which the US government has felt uneasy about ever since it shot to fame. The main concern is that the Chinese government can use the app to gain access to American data, which the owners of the app deny. In a vote that succeeded by 79-18 votes, the bill will now arrive on Joe Biden's desk.

The biggest concern for TikTok users is that Joe Biden has already agreed to pass the bill once it's handed over to him, putting TikTok in its closes case yet from being banned from the country. It's expected that TikTok will challenge the law, which will see it do battle in the courts to prove that it's not harvesting data on US citizens.

A slither of hope for TikTok fans

Even if the bill passes and TikTok doesn't successfully challenge it, it's not all doom for the app's community. The ban adds a stipulation; if TikTok's owner, ByteDance, finds a US-based company to purchase the app within 9 months of the bill passing, the app will be allowed to continue operating. And that deadline can be extended by a further 90 days if the president wills it.

Whether or not ByteDance will find a sale depends on whether any US-based company is yet to be seen; it's a wildly popular app, but there may be concerns about whether operating it will cost more than what it will make in advertising and in-app purchases of TikTok's in-app currency. Until then, there's at least a slither of hope that TikTok will stick around for now.