Student opinion: US TikTok tension – The app provides more pros than cons

In September 2016, Chinese technology company ByteDance launched the app TikTok. The app took off instantly and is now available in over 150 countries, including the U.S. In 2018, TikTok became the most downloaded app worldwide, garnering 672 million downloads. While TikTok has become a global sensation over the past seven years, its growing popularity has not blinded U.S. leaders to its threat to U.S. national security regarding China. 

Concerns surrounding TikTok arose in 2020 when former President Donald Trump planned to ban the app. Reuters notes that Trump pushed for the ban on the grounds of protecting national security, and his concerns were supported by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. 

On May 23, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew endured five hours of questioning by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, seeking to preserve the app’s availability within the U.S.

“We do not trust TikTok will ever embrace American values,” committee chair Republican Cathy McMorris Rogers stated during the hearing.

Through his testimony, Shou Zi Chew attempted to eliminate the security concerns around the platform, yet his efforts accomplished little to sway the committee. President Biden is pushing for investors to sell their stakes in the booming social media platform to U.S. buyers. If compliance with such a request is refused, Biden is seeking to ban the platform in the U.S. as its breaches of user data pose a threat. The president believes implementing such a ban will prevent the Chinese government from obtaining any more data on the app’s American users. 

While Capitol Hill may have good intentions of protecting American consumers’ national security, the execution of such methods will cause extreme fallout. #KeepTikTok campaign supporters claim that the app supports growing businesses, and it creates new ones as well. More than that, TikTok has created thousands of jobs for those with artistic passions and skills for producing creative content. TikTok has now been known to not only spur jobs in the economy, but it has also become a way employers and organizations have reached out to job seekers to advertise open positions. What initially started as just another social media platform has now grown into a place where people create a job for themselves, connect with opportunities they wouldn’t have otherwise had and even learn the latest news. Without the platform and its content-sharing capabilities, all this will be lost. 

In addition to the external impact that will occur upon banning TikTok, pursuing Biden’s legislation will bring an economic setback that may go unnoticed at first. Forcing investors to sell their stakes in the company on the threat of facing a ban in the U.S. will hinder future product and technology investors from conducting business in the U.S. Additionally, Biden’s plan may prove difficult for Capitol Hill to enforce as thousands of the platform’s users claim that banning TikTok constitutes as an infringement of the First Amendment. According to Fox News, Sen. Rand Paul is against the bill because of the crossed lines between protecting national security and the First Amendment. If the bill is to be passed, the White House can expect a fight from the people for their rights. 

Biden is prepared to ban TikTok to prevent any repercussions from wrongful handling of U.S. consumer information. While the concern is understandable, there are several ways to resolve the issue, such as amending the platform’s privacy policy. While signing off on such a bill may have some benefits, such as Congress’ ease of mind from being free from the watchful eyes of the Chinese government, the bill will have undoubted consequences that will seemingly outweigh any advantages.

Daniel is an opinion writer for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on Twitter