As January 19 comes closer, TikTok is waiting for the Supreme Court hearing on Friday that will decide its fate. In April 2024, a bill was passed in Congress, giving TikTok an ultimatum to either be bought by an American company or the platform will be banned on January 19. The crackdown started in 2020 when Trump signed an executive order banning all transactions between TikTok and US citizens or businesses. TikTok claimed that the order was unjust and stated that Trump’s order sets a “dangerous precedent.”
According to Trump, TikTok is a threat to national security, stating concerns about China’s growing influence, the data security of US citizens, and the negative impact on American youth. However, a group of TikTok users have called it a violation of the First Amendment Act and called it a blatant attempt by the government to “police the ideas Americans hear.”
Are Trump’s reasons for banning TikTok legit or is there more to it than meets the eye?
TikTok Ban Is Barking Up the Wrong Tree
One of the biggest concerns for lawmakers is China’s influence on public opinion and its potential threats to US politics. One Republican Senator gave the example of China’s role in undermining the ConocoPhillips Oil Project in Alaska, although the evidence is not clear.
This concern sounds hypocritical as researchers point out that foreign governments like China and Russia have been manipulating information on American platforms like Facebook and X for nearly a decade. The interference of Russia also became clear after the 2016 presidential election. A separate study also indicated that platforms like Meta, X, and YouTube make it harder to prevent such activities due to their refusal to provide access to relevant data.
TikTok Data Isn’t Even Safe in the USA
The second reason, that is often cited, is the concern of data privacy and security. But this is also a misguided concern as there is no evidence to prove that data is safer in the USA. A Federal Lawsuit blamed Google for selling user data. The suit points to “a history of privacy violations” and in 2010, the FTC charged the company with violating its “privacy promises” to the consumers.
In 2019, Google also paid a $170 million fine after YouTube illegally collected personal information from children without their parents’ consent. Moreover, a French high court also fined Google 50 million euros over data privacy concerns.
And how can we forget about the Cambridge Analytica data breach that used data of 50 million Facebook users to influence the voting behavior of Americans? Even as early as 2011, Facebook was under fire by the FTC for leaking important user information.
Let’s look at the example of Grindr, a Chinese LGBTQ+ dating app, that was under a similar situation as TikTok. In 2020, Grindr was sold to a US company. Then, a Catholic group purchased the user data from Grindr to track gay priests.
Additionally, why does China need to use TikTok to gather user information? It can simply buy the data from Data Brokers legally. There are many large data brokers like Foursquare, Amazon’s AWS Data Exchange, and Outlogic.
Trump’s True Objective Behind TikTok Ban
The real objective behind the TikTok ban is politics. Let’s expand on that. According to Pew Research, 52% of Americans under the age of 30 use TikTok as their primary news source, instead of traditional media. TikTok, unlike the other news outlet, is not in control of the American ruling class.
One crucial proof is the majority pro-Palestine sentiment on TikTok. This sentiment is contradictory to what is seen in traditional media outlets and other social media platforms. US lawmakers accused TikTok of pushing pro-Palestine content and indoctrinating America’s youth against Israel. TikTok denied the claim stating, “It does not take sides.”
An independent study by the Washington Post agreed with TikTok and stated that young people are actually taking Palestine’s side. They mentioned that young people are 38 times and 26 times more likely to be Pro-Palestine on Facebook and Instagram, platforms owned by American companies. A Gallup survey also stated that support for Israel is lowest among younger Americans, with only 40% supporting Israelis.
The involvement of politics in the TikTok Ban can also be seen as Trump changes his stance on the TikTok ban. Trump in his bid to appease the young voters and billionaires, who have a stake in TikTok’s parent company, wants to delay the ban to have more time for negotiations. His change has sparked allegations that he’s trying to get on the good side of wealthy donors who own stakes in TikTok’s parent company, especially after the failure of Trump’s tax cut bill. Trump’s strategist Alex Bruesewitz went as far as to swift the whole blame to Biden, calling it a “Biden’s ban” and urging young voters to “know it.”
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