The unfolding drama surrounnding the effort to ban video sharing platform TikTok has been a firestorm of a debate for years. Both Republicans and Democrats have argued for an against the idea.
The House recently passed a bill that could result in the end of legal use of the platform. Now, the matter will be taken up by the Senate.
So far, it is uncertain how the upper chamber will vote on the matter. There have been senators on both sides arguing over the idea.
At the heart of this controversy is the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, recently passed by the House, which proposes a stark ultimatum for TikTok's parent company, Bytedance: divest from its ownership of TikTok, or the app will be banned in the United States.
This legislative push, underscored by President Biden's readiness to sign the bill into law, represents a critical juncture in the ongoing dialogue about the role of technology in society and the boundaries of governmental intervention.
The Crux of the Ban
Under the shadow of national security, the bill seeks to mitigate perceived threats by empowering the executive branch to act decisively against foreign-owned social media entities deemed hazardous. The arguments for this drastic measure hinge on concerns over data privacy and the specter of foreign propaganda.
Specifically, proponents of the bill argue that TikTok's data harvesting practices and its potential to disseminate Chinese propaganda constitute a clear and present danger. As NBC News reports, "The bill’s most vocal proponents and national security officials have said this would apply to TikTok’s parent company, China-based Bytedance, for two reasons: the app collects data on its 170 million American users, and in theory, it could be used to push Chinese propaganda."
Critics, however, have argued that the bill would violate the First Amendment and violate free speech. They argue that the issue at hand is not unique to TikTok and could be better addressed through comprehensive data privacy legislation.
Kate Ruane, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology, contends, "Privacy advocates have long said that TikTok doesn’t collect substantially more information on its users than other apps, and a better solution would be to simply pass a substantial data privacy law, which the U.S. does not have."
Of course, this is not surprising. Federal agencies have been violating privacy rights for ages. It doesn’t seem as if Congress would be willing to pass legislation preventing the state from surveilling Americans.
The Unintended Consequences of a Ban
A ban on TikTok would undoubtedly reshape the digital landscape, removing a platform that has become a staple of digital expression for millions. The direct effects of such a ban, including the removal of the app from major app stores, would curtail access to TikTok's content and community.
However, this move could paradoxically prompt users to find workarounds so they can still use the app. Reflecting on this, Cooper Quintin, the senior staff technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, noted, "They’re certainly not going to stop people from using TikTok by banning it. Yeah, you’ll probably cut down on the number of people using it, but that just makes it more exciting. They’re gonna create a whole new generation of hackers."
According to Laurin Weissinger, a visiting scholar at the Department of Computer Science at Tufts University, "It’s also possible to load apps directly onto a phone without going through a store, though it’s significantly harder to do so on iPhones than on Android phones."
A Matter of Digital Rights and Wrongs
At its core, the debate over TikTok's future in the United States touches upon fundamental questions about internet governance, the right to free expression, and the extent to which national security considerations should influence the digital domain. The controversy encapsulates a broader struggle to find equilibrium between safeguarding citizens from genuine threats and ensuring that the expansive realm of digital innovation remains a space for freedom and creativity.
The reality is that not only would trying to ban TikTok fail to do so, it is a violation of rights. Indeed, those supporting the ban point to ByteDance’s Chinese ownership and the possibility that the Chinese Communist Party could be mining data from American users.
However, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) debunked this theory in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Reactionaries who want to ban TikTok claim the data can’t be secured because the “algorithm” is in China.
Not true.
The truth is the Algorithm runs in the U.S. in oracle cloud with their review of the code. (NOT in China).
Maybe we should examine the facts before committing violations of the 1st and 5th amendments.
Paul also pointed out that “60% of the company is owned by US and international investors” and that 20% is “owned by the company founders” and that the other 20% “is owned by company employees, including over 7,000 Americans.”
He also noted that “The CEO of TikTok is from Singapore, not China.”
It is also interesting that government officials are using data mining as an excuse for banning TikTok when they have no problem with our government mining our data and pressuring Big Tech companies to censor Americans based on political reasons.
The outcome of this debate could shape the future trajectory of digital policy and set a precedent that could influence the government’s role in policing technology. Amidst all this uncertainty, one thing remains clear: The resolution of the TikTok saga will have far-reaching consequences, not just for the app’s users, but for the very fabric of digital society.