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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Background

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.”

The U.S. should ban TikTok:

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.

See arguments »

The U.S. should not ban TikTok:

Banning TikTok would violate free speech rights protected by the First Amendment and hurt millions of Americans who profit from the app.

See arguments »

The U.S. should regulate TikTok:

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.

See arguments »

Stance 1: The U.S. should ban TikTok

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.

More arguments for this stance:

TikTok collects extensive user data, including websites visited, users’ location, contact information, and keystrokes, which can help determine passwords and other sensitive information.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, meaning its data can be accessed by the Chinese government due to China's national security laws requiring companies to cooperate with intelligence gathering.
TikTok can be used as a mechanism to spread misinformation and disinformation directed by Beijing to manipulate public opinion, push propaganda, and undermine upcoming elections.
There is bipartisan support from U.S. lawmakers to ban TikTok in some form. Republicans and Democrats have called for legislation to ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells it to a non-Chinese company, indicating widespread concern across the political spectrum.
The app is proven to be addictive and can harm mental health, especially among younger users.
“More Americans support than oppose the U.S. government banning TikTok.”
The international version of TikTok is not even allowed in China. Instead, users access the Chinese version, “Douyin,” which is subject to censorship. Beijing has also already banned most U.S. social media platforms.
Banning TikTok would decrease U.S. technological reliance on China.

Stance 2: The U.S. should not ban TikTok

CORE ARGUMENT: Banning TikTok would violate free speech rights protected by the First Amendment and hurt millions of Americans who profit from the app.

More arguments for this stance:

The First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting Americans' access to content on a specific platform.
Many small businesses and content creators rely on TikTok for income and promotion. Nearly five million small businesses using the app generated over $15 billion in revenue in 2023, according to TikTok.
TikTok provides a platform for millions of Americans to voice their opinions while simultaneously serving as a creative outlet. The app also fosters a sense of community for many individuals.
“TikTok says it has never been asked to provide U.S. user data to the Chinese government and wouldn’t do so if asked to.”
The data that TikTok collects is not significantly different from the data collected by other social media platforms."The question is whether TikTok is any more harmful than say Truth Social or X. Rather than cherry picking one service, lawmakers should be crafting a remedy that would apply to all services."
Banning TikTok could strain U.S. relations with Beijing as the Chinese government might view the ban as an unwarranted or discriminatory measure.

Stance 3: The U.S. should regulate TikTok

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:

Regulating TikTok will protect user information by limiting the amount of data accessible to China without infringing on freedom of speech.
Instead of specifically targeting TikTok, implementing stricter data protection regulations targeting all apps like TikTok would address larger issues of data handling practices across platforms.
The only current federal regulation the U.S. has implemented bans TikTok on federal government-issued devices. TikTok is not banned on government devices in all 50 states.
Many other countries have made strides towards mitigating risks TikTok poses to national security. India banned TikTok in 2020 after cracking down on hundreds of Chinese owned apps.
Britain, France, and New Zealand’s Parliaments, the executive arm of the European Union, as well as Australia and Canada have banned TikTok from official devices.
The government could require TikTok to be more transparent about its data collection, storage, and sharing practices, especially in regards to the Chinese government’s access to this information.
Creating a strict age limit would protect minors from joining the app and being exposed to addictive and inappropriate content.
Carrying out the U.S.’ current plan to force ByteDance to sell TikTok to an American owned corporation would safeguard both user information and Freedom of Speech.