Violating the TikTok law, specifically the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, can result in significant penalties. Companies that distribute, maintain, or update TikTok in the U.S. without proper divestiture from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could face civil enforcement actions and monetary penalties.

The penalties can be as high as $5,000 per user, which could amount to $850 billion given TikTok's claim of having 170 million U.S. users. Additionally, companies facilitating TikTok's U.S. operations could face ruinous bankruptcy due to the combined liabilities from the Department of Justice, securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state attorneys general.