April 5, 2024/Midnight
Erie Pa., — TikTok is one of the most used social media platforms. The social media app exploded in popularity a few years ago, and ever since has been consistently ranked among the most used social media app for teenagers. It’s popularity, especially in American culture, has inspired years of debate and controversy.
Since TikTok’s inception, there has been backlash over the app’s alleged addictive nature. There have been several attempts to ban the app from the United States, both because of the app’s addictive nature, and an array of political reasons throughout the years.
Though these attempts to ban the app are mostly unsuccessful, President Biden passed a law in 2022 banning the app from federally owned devices. The main reasoning behind this law involves the parent company of TikTok: ByteDance, a Chinese-owned company that has been accused of allegedly selling user data.
This concern has recently spread from federally owned devices to any American user device. On March 13th, 2024, the House of Representatives voted to pass a bill that could ban TikTok in the United States. This bill will soon be voted on in the Senate, where it already is facing more backlash than it did in the House of Representatives.
Most of the reasoning behind banning TikTok lies with the national security concerns relating to American user data being sold to foreign companies or countries. However, there is a significant amount of opposition to a full ban.
Some people are concerned that this ban would violate free speech, especially since TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms on the market. Not only that, but it functions as a much more versatile app than most other social media.
Generation Z, who is most associated with the app, reports using TikTok as a news source, online shopping mall, and even as an employer. While more people are growing businesses off social media, the backlash from influencers and creators has been steadily growing. To influencers and online creators, a ban on TikTok has the possibility to impact their income significantly negatively.
Other people are concerned with a possible ‘slippery slope’ effect of banning TikTok. Some people have voiced concerns that if the government can ban TikTok, then it could in theory ban any social media platform.
Today, TikTok is safe from any potential bans. Only after the Senate votes on the bill will the public know if the fan-favorite social media platform will stay on their phones.
For more information on TikTok and its recent controversy, visit: Members of Congress are getting pushback on the TikTok ban from their own angry Gen Z kids (msn.com)
