'Uncharted territory': How would a TikTok ban in the US work?

Awkward dads and their eager children may not dance together on TikTok for much longer -- at least not in the U.S.

The prospect of a nationwide TikTok ban has escalated from a theoretical possibility to a serious policy consideration, drawing growing support in Washington, D.C.

However, scant details are known about how the policy would be implemented and what it would mean for more than 100 million U.S.-based users of the app.

China-owned TikTok has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could ultimately be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.

The Biden administration has stiffened its posture toward TikTok in recent weeks, endorsing a bipartisan bill earlier this month that would empower the federal government to ban apps like TikTok.

The administration's stance hardened further this week, when officials demanded that TikTok's Chinese owner sell its stake in the app or risk getting banned, the company and a U.S. official previously told ABC News.

MORE: Biden admin demands TikTok's Chinese owner sell stakes or risk being banned: Official

A TikTok ban could take effect in a variety of ways, including its forced removal from Apple and Google app stores or an outright block of access by internet service providers, experts told ABC News.

While dedicated users would find ways to circumvent any government crackdown, the app would suffer a dramatic decline in popularity and eventually be rendered defunct, they added.

"The U.S. doesn't typically ban websites like this -- it would be very much uncharted territory," Timothy Edgar, a computer science professor at Brown University and a former national security official, told ABC News. "It would be an enormous undertaking."

TikTok did not respond to ABC News' request for comment.

In response to bans of TikTok on some government devices, TikTok previously told ABC News in a statement: "We appreciate that some governments have wisely chosen not to implement such bans due to a lack of evidence that there is any such need, but it's disappointing to see that other government bodies and institutions are banning TikTok on employee devices with no deliberation or evidence."

"We share a common goal with governments that are concerned about user privacy, but these bans are misguided and do nothing to further privacy or security," the company added.

MORE: TikTok faces bans in US and other countries. Here's why.

Here's what to know about the different ways the government could implement a nationwide TikTok ban, and what it would mean for TikTok users:

The removal of TikTok from app stores

A simple way to significantly curtail access to TikTok is in the form of a mandatory withdrawal of the app from major app stores, such as those maintained by Google and Apple.

Such a measure would bar new users and limiting existing ones, experts said.

"It would prevent new users from downloading and installing the app," Qi Liao, a professor of computer science at Central Michigan University, told ABC News. "And the app would not be able to download updates, eventually becoming obsolete."

The approach has gained support from at least one U.S. Senator. Last month, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-CO, sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, calling on their companies to remove TikTok from their respective app stores and cited concerns about how TikTok handles the data of American users.

Google and Apple did not respond to a previous request for comment about the letter.

Savvy users could get around such a ban by using offline app installation that bypasses the app stores, Liao said.

Still, an app store ban would immediately limit TikTok's audience, he added.

"As soon as you ban TikTok on the app store, it's going to make an impact," Liao said.