Over the past few years, TikTok has become one of the most well-known and widely used social media apps. After rebranding from musical.ly in 2018, its popularity skyrocketed, growing exponentially during the pandemic. Everyone was stuck inside, with nothing better to do than spend hours scrolling. Its rise forever changed the internet, bringing with it a new wave of celebrities from the D’Amelio sisters to Addison Rae. With its focus on short form content and a format unlike anything else at the time, it was a matter of months before other apps began to copy it. Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and even Facebook started introducing their own version of TikTok, cementing it as the most influential platform of the decade.
Despite its success, TikTok has been extremely controversial. Social media has always been a divisive topic, but TikTok especially has sparked an unprecedented amount of debate, drawing criticism not only from parents and teachers, but from the government as well. The app faced scrutiny from the Trump administration due to its ownership by the Chinese company ByteDance. The former president believed that its ties to China posed a dangerous security risk, claiming that the Chinese government might be able to access Americans’ data through the app. Despite using TikTok to boost recruitment numbers, the United States Navy and Army both banned it on their government-owned devices in January 2020 over these concerns. Later that year, the Trump administration attempted to ban TikTok but was hit with a lawsuit. Opponents of this proposed ban argued that Trump had political motivations due to tensions between him and China, as well as pranks against him that were orchestrated and shared on the app.
Trump and Biden don’t agree on many things, but the one thing they do have in common is their opinion on TikTok. Biden has fought for it to be banned throughout his time in office, also citing security concerns. In 2022, he banned it on government-owned devices, and efforts for a more comprehensive ban ramped up in 2023, as multiple bills with the purpose of banning it nationwide were brought before Congress. Many states have banned it on devices owned by their government. Similarly, many universities including Arizona State, Purdue, and dozens more have prohibited its use on their devices and WiFi. Montana tried to ban the app for all its residents, but content creators sued, and the bill was blocked by a judicial ruling. TikTok is also banned on devices owned by Wells Fargo and the New York City government.
Outside of the US, many different countries have enacted bans, most notably India, who prohibited it nationwide amid tensions with China. It might come as a surprise that TikTok was actually never allowed in China, but instead the country’s residents are permitted to use a similar app owned by the same company.
Rumors of a nationwide ban in the US have been going around seemingly as long as the app has existed, and they usually aren’t taken seriously because of how often they come and go. Rumors have resurfaced in the past few months, however, and this time people are worried. This April, a bill was passed by Congress and signed by Joe Biden that gives ByteDance 270 days to sell the app, and if they don’t, Americans will no longer be able to download or update the app. This means that TikTok could still be used, to a certain extent. The ban wouldn’t go into effect for a while, as the 270 days won’t be up until January 19, 2025. Even then, Biden could give the company another 90 days if he decides they are close to selling it and just need a bit more time.
ByteDance has come out to say that it isn’t planning on selling TikTok, and will be fighting the ban in court. The company sent a petition to the Court of Appeals in which they called the ban “unconstitutional” and an infringement on free speech. There’s a good chance this “free speech” angle will work and the ban will be halted, as other attempted bans have been in the past.
The threat of a possible ban has raised concerns over censorship and free speech violations. These ideas have raised alarm on TikTok. “I think what the government fails to realize,” said user @iamfiona2pt0 in a video she posted this March, “is that even if they ban this app, we’ve already seen too much. We have knowledge of things that we would never have known before TikTok.” While her take sounds a bit like a conspiracy theory, she is right that the app has been used to discuss things that go beyond what the government has discussed publicly. TikTok has been used to spread awareness about a myriad of social issues, from Black Lives Matter to abortion rights. Many are saying that it’s not a good look to ban this platform, which has brought about so much change; change that at times the government refused to bring about themselves. The First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech and the press, and as social media grows in popularity, we have to decide if it should also protect these sites, where Americans can freely express themselves and discuss social issues, from being banned.
Despite this, there’s still a real possibility TikTok could be banned. If this were to happen, it likely wouldn’t impact the average user that much. Julia, a 14 year-old from Oregon commented on the situation, saying, “it doesn’t matter too much to me because if it was banned I can just watch insta reels.” Now that every social media site has its own TikTok dupe, most users would simply switch to Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, or any other platform.
The people that would be most heavily impacted by this ban are the creators, especially those who have used TikTok to promote their small business. According to TikTok, there are over 7 million US small businesses that use the app. Although they could try their luck with a different platform if it is banned, it takes time and effort to gain a following on any site, and success isn’t guaranteed. “I have spent many years growing and developing a really dedicated audience [on TikTok]” said 27-year old content creator Shira in an interview with BBC. Another creator, Iliana Justine, expressed concern for business owners who rely on TikTok as their primary source of income. “The platform allows for amplification of their products and stores, which can completely transform their businesses,” she said. “I have lots of friends who have been able to turn their businesses from side hustles into full-time jobs because of TikTok.” If the ban went through, an estimated 224,000 Americans would lose their jobs (although that number was stated by the company itself). The app also claimed that, in 2023 alone, it contributed $24.2 billion to the American economy.
Others have argued that The US government’s targeting of TikTok is based on xenophobia, not genuine concern for the security of Americans. In an article for the Westwood Horizon, reporter Bella Yi wrote that the ban is a result of a general fear of China. She cited a hearing in which senator Tom Cotton interrogated the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew (who is Singaporean), about his ethnicity, asking him multiple times if he was Chinese and if he had any connections to the government of China. Cotton seemed more concerned with Chew’s nationality than the possible safety risk TikTok might pose. Anti-asian racism and discrimination towards Chinese citizens skyrocketed during the pandemic, and relations between the US and Chinese governments have been deteriorating in recent years. It seems entirely possible that the government’s crusade against the platform isn’t entirely based on security concerns, but instead on racist beliefs and political tensions.
More evidence for this theory lies in the fact that other social media companies have been exposed for sharing data in the past. These companies haven’t faced the same repercussions as TikTok, an app that hasn’t even been confirmed to share information, but is being targeted over the concern that it might. Meta is a perfect example of this. The company, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, received criticism from Congress in 2023 after it was revealed that its users’ sensitive data was available to developers in Russia and China. Despite these initial concerns, Meta (which is based in California and owned by a white man) hasn’t faced nearly as much scrutiny as TikTok.
Despite the many benefits of TikTok, it has also caused immense harm, especially to adolescents. The list of problems with this app could fill an encyclopedia, but to name a few: TikTok has promoted insecurities and an unobtainable beauty standard, destroyed people’s mental health, spread harmful misinformation, allowed cyberbullying, and exposed children to white supremacist ideas and other dangerous content. These problems aren’t unique to TikTok, and harmful videos would still be available even if the ban goes through, because it wouldn’t completely delete the app. However, supporters of a ban say that it’s a step in the right direction, and one less social media site is a good thing.
While all social media can be damaging, TikTok is often considered one of the most harmful. TikTok’s algorithm, which takes note of what kind of videos a user watches to show them similar content, can be incredibly dangerous. In a documentary by Journeyman Pictures about the app, one woman explained how, after watching a video about weight loss, her FYP was soon filled with content that promoted eating disorders and eventually led to her developing one. The algorithm has also been known to spread dangerous challenges. While some of these challenges have been exaggerated, others are very real and concerning. For example, in 2022, there was a carjacking trend where a flaw in the security of Hyundais and Kias was exposed on the app, leading to a startling 85% rise in thefts of these types of cars.
A TikTok ban would have its benefits and its flaws. While it might help to improve mental health by prohibiting a platform that has been known to promote insecurities, bullying, and harmful content, it would also raise questions about anti-Chinese hate and free speech in America, as well as causing a catastrophe for the creators who rely on it. We’ll have to wait and see what will happen to TikTok in the coming months and years.