Should the U.S. ban TikTok?
In April 2024, President Biden signed bipartisan legislation that will ban TikTok from U.S. app stores in nine months unless its parent company, ByteDance, gives up its control, ultimately attempting to force a sale. The legislation also allows the option for Biden to invoke a three-month grace period.
The U.S.’ steps towards banning TikTok have provoked a variety of reactions. Proponents of banning TikTok argue that Chinese influence poses a national security threat, potentially enabling the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to covertly survey and manipulate American public opinion. Critics contend that banning TikTok would infringe on First Amendment rights and harm the livelihoods of millions of users who benefit financially from the app. A middle-ground approach suggests implementing specific regulations to safeguard user data and prevent misuse, rather than an outright ban.
Here are some perspectives on how U.S. policymakers should approach crafting TikTok legislation.
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The TikTok bill relies heavily on leveraging Apple and Google’s control by directing them to remove the TikTok app from their respective app stores.
While the potential ban would remove TikTok from app stores, preventing new downloads, TikTok wouldn't immediately disappear from American users' devices. It would however, prevent TikTok from sending updates and bug fixes which would gradually render the app unusable. This current approach would phase out TikTok's presence over time, rather than causing an abrupt disappearance.
The TikTok Bill was tied to a sweeping aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
"It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shatter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually," said a TikTok spokesperson.
The TikTok app is owned by TikTok LLC (incorporated in Delaware), which is controlled by TikTok Ltd (registered in the Cayman Islands and based in Shanghai), which is owned by ByteDance Ltd (incorporated in the Cayman Islands and based in Beijing). Along with ByteDance’s compulsory in-house CCP committee, China’s influence also includes the government’s 1% ownership of Beijing Douyin Information Service, the domestic Chinese unit of ByteDance. Douyin is the country’s sister app to TikTok, which has reportedly “never existed in mainland China.”
CORE ARGUMENT: TikTok poses a national security threat to the U.S. because of its Chinese ownership. The Chinese government could use the app to spy on Americans and covertly influence public opinion by manipulating content.
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CORE ARGUMENT: Banning TikTok would violate free speech rights protected by the First Amendment and hurt millions of Americans who profit from the app.
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CORE ARGUMENT: Instead of banning TikTok outright, the U.S. government should implement regulations to protect user data from sophisticated cyber attacks and prevent the potential misuse of the app.
More arguments for this stance:
The Author:
Isabella Custard, Multimedia Intern, Lean Right bias
Reviewers and Contributors:
Joseph Ratliff, Content Designer and News Editor, Lean Left bias
Carsen Brunn, Bridging & Multimedia Intern, Center bias
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