5 reasons why you should ban TikTok as soon as possible

Last month, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill, 352-65, to force Chinese conglomerate ByteDance to sell TikTok to a buyer who is not a “foreign adversary,” or the U.S. The White House supported the bill and urged the Senate to “act quickly” in the face of a ban. However, the Senate has not yet decided whether to bring the bill to a vote.

Now there is new momentum. On April 17, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced plans to include the TikTok sales ban in a series of bills that would provide new aid to Ukraine and Israel. Including it in the package could help it pass the Senate with limited debate.

It is best to enact strong laws quickly for the sake of our children and our republic. Here are her five reasons and another way to put the two countries on a more friendly footing.

First, the Chinese government blocks all major American web and social media companies, including Meta, Google, Twitter/X, and more. It is completely unfair that China, a powerful enemy of the United States, can influence the American people while banning the American web. Companies from the coast.

Please chew on that for a moment. This is not a level playing field.

Second, there is precedent for forced sales. In 2020, dating app Grindr was forced to be sold by its Chinese owner after the US raised data security concerns. For decades, the United States has maintained laws prohibiting foreign ownership of broadcasting companies. We won't let China control what's on TV and radio.

But it's old technology. Most of the media we consume now happens via the web on our laptops and apps on our phones, which are far beyond the scope of the old laws. This is nonsense. It's time to refresh.

Third, TikTok's data privacy breach is serious. Of course, American web and social media companies such as Meta, Google, and Twitter/X have clear similarities in data collection. But TikTok's practices present unique problems.

In 2022, it was discovered that ByteDance staff had been spying on American journalists covering the company, using data from the journalists' TikTok accounts to investigate sources. In 2023, a TikTok employee was caught sharing U.S. user data, including driver's licenses, addresses, and photos, with a ByteDance employee in China.

Under China's National Intelligence Law, Chinese companies must submit any information requested by the government, including data on foreign nationals. No wonder the White House directed federal agencies to remove TikTok from all government devices in 2023, citing national security concerns.

Fourth, there are numerous documented instances of TikTok being used by the Chinese government as a tool for propaganda and political disinformation, and FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that the Chinese government is trying to “influence American users.” They even warned that TikTok could be misused to “give money to people or take control of their devices.” American social media companies are known for promoting harmful content, but the big difference is that they don't incorporate government intentions into content decisions for international users.

Fifth, America's youth are at risk. TikTok boasts 170 million users in the United States, one-third of whom are under the age of 14. This means TikTok collects data and influences the minds of 50 million to 60 million American children.

As “60 Minutes'' reported, the version of TikTok available in China is very different from the Western version. The Chinese version of Douyin provides educational content on science and engineering for young users and has a daily limit of 40 minutes. Conversely, here in the West, trending videos on TikTok can be superficial or even overtly sexual. It may not be such a shock that research shows that the most popular goal among children in China is to become an astronaut, while in America it is to become a social media influencer.

Given these facts, what is stopping legislation?

There are partly political reasons. Some Democratic strategists have warned that pushing to ban TikTok “could have serious consequences for young voter engagement this fall.”

These concerns may be overstated. A Biden campaign adviser recently told Politico that “the youth turnout program is not overly reliant on TikTok.” Because the bill is bipartisan, dissatisfied voters could equally criticize both parties.

Former President Trump recently announced his opposition to the TikTok bill, reversing his 2020 position. He argued that banning TikTok would be a gift to meta.

Indeed, the first big winners of the TikTok ban will be its biggest competitors Meta (via Facebook and Instagram), Google (via YouTube), and Twitter/X. Notably, TikTok's ban would also benefit smaller competitors like Triller, Clapper, and other emerging startups. Additionally, there are better solutions to counter Big Tech monopolies, such as new laws for data interoperability.

On both sides of the aisle, some opponents of the bill warned that banning TikTok would limit Americans' free speech and could lead to a legal showdown in the future. Millions of Americans rely on his TikTok for entertainment, and many rely on it for income. These are legitimate concerns.

Fortunately, there are migration examples that occur under a variety of circumstances that demonstrate the power of users to find effective alternatives. MySpace users migrated to Facebook en masse. Vine users migrated en masse to YouTube, and he migrated to TikTok. Skype users have migrated to Zoom. Don't underestimate your users' ability to establish new beachheads. (As an aside, a 2024 report shows that TikTok's growth has already stalled in the US)

Or here's a new suggestion. If China lifts its ban on American web companies, TikTok could remain in the United States. How about an olive branch?

mark weinstein is a world-renowned technology thought leader and privacy expert.He is the founder of the social network weHe left the company in July 2022 and is currently writing a book on the intersection of social media, mental health, privacy, civil discourse, and democracy.