The Problems with TikTok

You may have heard about government agencies and a few different states banning the use of TikTok from government employees’ phones over concerns of Chinese data tracking and spying. The privacy concerns have heightened as TikTok steadily climbs up to a top 5 social media platform in the US (by user interaction).

What is TikTok?

Tik Tok is a popular social media app that allows users to create, share, and watch short videos through mobile devices or webcams. TikTok became extremely popular during the 2020 lock downs, giving people different ways to watch and share videos while being at home.

Facts about TikTok.

• The app was launched in 2016 by the Chinese technology company, ByteDance.

• The app saw approximately 1 billion global daily users by early 2022.

• Now available in more than 150 different countries

• About 40% of users are ages 18 to 24.

• About 141 million active users are from the U.S.

• Its users spend an average of 46 minutes per day on it.

TikTok and the US Government.

Starting in July 2020, President Donald Trump launched a public attack on TikTok, threatening to ban it from the U.S. on the grounds that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could use data gathered from users to spy on U.S. citizens. He demanded that TikTok be sold to U.S. interests to eliminate the threat. In September of 2020, President Trump declared he had solved the issue through a deal that would sever TikTok from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, and incorporate it as a U.S. company. The proposed deal would have created a new spinoff company, TikTok Global.

Currently, the tentative deal has been halted by numerous court challenges, and the future of the proposed deal remains uncertain under the Biden administration.

Last Friday, congress held a hearing with the current CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, about the amount of access China has to user’s data. During the hearing multiple members of congress questioned Mr. Chew on this topic, however, Mr. Chew provided no reassuring responses.

The Issue with TikTok

I’ve read a lot of articles and tweets criticizing the potential ban of TikTok. Some are reasonable and some aren’t. One of the main arguments is that all social media platforms collect data (whether you know about it or not) and instead of banning TikTok the government should work on protecting the data rights of its users. This may sound like a good idea, but it really misses the entire concern people have over the app. The concern isn’t entirely that our data is being collected, it’s how that data is being used against us. Like I stated above, TikTok has a younger audience who would be more open minded to different ideas they hear or see on the app (even if they don’t really understand them). This provides the CCP (through ByteDance) with an excellent opportunity to slowly push topics and ideas that might not align with American or western values on their younger audience. They can do this through the “For you” page on TikTok that uses an algorithm to generate videos “you might like”. These videos can be adjusted to feature more topics or narratives that the CCP wants to push. This influence is what has the American government concerned.

The Reality of the Situation.

I personally don’t support the banning of social media platforms, TikTok included. However, I do think the company (since in operates in America) needs to meet the compliancy standard of our government. If it can’t do that, the n it needs to go. It’s that simple.

Follow us on Twitter @Hill_Households and @Gaslighting_101 for more day-to-day coverage.

Email us questions or reactions @[email protected]