They'll be willing to let Bytedance take the L on this. Bytedance can console themselves that TikTok can still operate elsewhere on the world, just making less money.
Until the CCP decides to allow a level playing field for US companies operating in China they can go pound sand as far as I’m concerned.
Divest completely, sell it to a US based company, or exit the company from US markets.
They are not our ally.
[0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.homyt.thex
And any replacement would be US only, limiting its reach to some 10% of what it had before.
This is why most people view this as a ban. And IMO, rightfully so; it's not as if our congressmen and congresswomen are fumbling about in the dark. They've just bought.
The rest of the world will likely follow. Also most of the world has already accepted that US tech firms have all their data, but don’t want China to have it. If there’s a feasible alternative to TikTok then banning it in Indonesia or Poland or Brazil becomes much easier for the politicians.