Since it was first released back in 2018, TikTok has undergone a transformation from being considered a cringy copy of vine to an absolute popular culture machine that holds considerable influence over the music, beauty and political spheres.
As of 2023, TikTok reports over 150 million active monthly users in the U.S. alone, according to NPR. While the app holds an iron grip on younger generations, particularly high schoolers. It also has garnered increasing usage from the adult population.
While the app provides fun and entertaining videos that keep people scrolling for hours on end, two main causes of concern have already led to the app being banned on Tennessee college campuses last week and may lead to a nationwide ban as early as March.
On March 23, Congress called TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in for four hours of questioning about security concerns over the app. TikTok is a Chinese-owned company and some particular laws in China make Congress concerned over citizens’ information. According to the New York Times, the Chinese government has laws in effect that allow them to privately demand data from Chinese companies for research purposes.
Chew said to lawmakers that he has no knowledge of the Chinese government accessing any sort of information, but people still remain skeptical. With a user base as large as TikTok, it is easy to see the value China sees in what they can learn from the trends and discourse on the app. Congress is scared of what China could possibly do with a detailed sketch of an American mind, and even more afraid of what China can do to influence it.
According to NPR, a small but growing number of adults in the U.S. are getting their news from TikTok. For younger generations, this occurrence is even more common, and while it’s never good to get all of one’s news from social media, TikTok’s elusive, algorithm-based “For You” page is particularly subjective to outside influences.
Misinformation on the app runs rampant; usually pandering to something the user already believes, which diminishes their chance of questioning it. Our country has already seen the effects of misinformation on our political landscape.
According to the New York Times, Congress is concerned that China can use TikTok as a weapon to mislead and pit Americans against one another. With each generation more reliant on social media than the last, it is possible that TikTok could eventually control almost all of someone’s perception of their country.
The United States is not the only country with concerns about TikTok’s Chinese-based ownership. India banned the app in 2020, and just last week NATO banned its use as well. President Biden is calling that TikTok either cut ties with China and become fully U.S. owned, or face a nationwide ban.
