BY JONAS CORLISS, STAFF WRITER
PHOTO COURTESY OF ANA MONEYMAKER, GETTY IMAGES
On March 13, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill that would require the Chinese company that owns TikTok, ByteDance, to either sell the platform or TikTok would be banned from the USA.
There are many reasons why banning TikTok is a terrible decision and how the supposed reasoning for the ban makes no sense. I believe the two biggest reasons for the ban are the fear of China and the suppression of news for the younger generations.
The main reason that lawmakers claim that the bill exists is in fear of the Chinese government spying on the data of US citizens and influencing them on their views for the coming presidential election. This reasoning is shown by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). “Today, the CCP’s [Chinese Communist Party’s] laws require Chinese companies like ByteDance to spy on their behalf,” stated Rodgers during a Congressional hearing.
This bill follows the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, being the subject of an intense congressional hearing earlier this year on March 23, 2023. The United States government’s concern over the power of China is evident from the congressional hearing with Chew. In a now infamous clip, Chew is repeatedly asked about his relationship with China despite saying he had no connections to China and stating he is from Singapore.
The government has not supplied any proof that the Chinese government has gathered American citizens’ data or that they have influenced the algorithm in any way, instead they are working under the assumption that in some way the Chinese government could potentially influence the data and algorithm of the platform.
However, this reasoning doesn’t make sense after the company offered a fix for the problem called Project Texas. The project would ensure all user data is held by a separate American company in Texas, free from any foreign input. This proposal was ignored by Congress, who believed that the move would not change anything. “I still believe that the Beijing communist government will still control and have the ability to influence what you do,” stated Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ).
Another point highlighting that this is an unfair usage of power is the fact that most, if not all, social media platforms and websites collect and use the data of their users. This was something that Congress encountered years ago with the Facebook app and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Yet for some reason, a ban regarding Facebook and Instagram and their collection of user data never made it through to the House of Representatives.
The United States government itself is guilty of looking through the data of its citizens. This concept goes back to the Patriot Act which was approved in 2001. It seems as though looking through and using the data of innocent people is fine, but not if you are Chinese.
The main criticism that most people have of the potential ban is how removing TikTok will hurt millions of people, mainly younger people, who get information and spread ideas from the app. Brooke Oberwetter, a spokesperson for TikTok, stated, “The livelihoods of the 5 million businesses on TikTok or the First Amendment implications of banning a platform loved by 150 million Americans,”.
As a platform, TikTok is one of the most used social media platforms in America, especially for younger demographics. This is something that was explicitly stated by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI). “[TikTok] is becoming the dominant news platform for Americans under 30” stated Gallagher for reasons why the ban is necessary.
Since the government is aware of and acknowledges that TikTok is essential for how young people stay informed on world news, why would they try to remove the platform?
The reason is that the government is not able to control what is shared on TikTok, which is something that is hurting both political parties. In recent polls, Biden has had lower ratings with people under age 35 than ever. A large reason for this is the government’s support of the Israeli genocide of Palestinian people, a topic that has gained massive coverage on TikTok.
With both people in Gaza documenting the atrocities that they are being forced to endure daily and individuals in America covering the events in a digestible manner for everyone, people can witness all of the carnage of war in a way that is only possible due to TikTok. This is a bad thing for the US government as they continue to fully support Israel despite the horrors they are enacting.
Israel has been working to suppress all support for Palestine on TikTok since November, when they issued over 8000 requests to both TikTok and Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, to remove posts that put Israel in a negative view according to Forbes. As members of Generation Z have become the majority to vocalize their frustrations with Israel, it is a major problem when the most used site for spreading information has the possibility of no longer being available.
At the end of the day, whether you believe there are ulterior motives behind the ban or not, it is an objective fact that stopping the spread of information is a bad thing. TikTok is a vital part of how the future of America gets information and forcibly removing it may have disastrous impacts not only for the present but for the future of the country.
