Will TikTok Be Banned for Real This Time?
Oops, they did it again…
The US Congress recently passed a bi-partisan bill to force TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok or face a ban in the US. The bill has support from both Democrats and Republicans, passing with a vote of 352-65.
Now before you freak out, the US Senate would also need to pass the bill before it gets to Biden’s desk, and they aren’t rushing into anything. Senator Chuck Schumer, who is the guy who decides what bills get a vote, hasn’t decided if he will actually bring the bill to the floor – yet.
But the bill is rightfully worrying a lot of creators and the 7 million small businesses whose livelihoods depend on the platform – along with their followers, who are freaking the f*@k out at the thought of losing their beloved TikTok.
So what’s the big deal? Well, it all comes down to China. Some lawmakers are concerned that ByteDance is handing over sensitive user data (like location) to the Chinese government – but there is no real evidence or intelligence to support this.
TikTok has defended its data practices, asserting that it has not been asked for such data and would refuse if compelled, and “submitted a 90-page proposal in August 2022 detailing how it planned to operate in the United States while addressing national security concerns."
And even if the bill passes, and ByteDance chooses to sell, the terms of the bill make it almost impossible to achieve without banning the app:
“A forced sale of TikTok within 180 days, as House-passed legislation requires, would be one of the thorniest and most complicated transactions in corporate history, posing financial, technical and geopolitical challenges that experts said could render a sale impractical and increase the likelihood the app will be banned nationwide.”
-The Washington Post
But let’s get real here: when it comes to selling or handling private user data, TikTok isn’t the only social media platform that we should be concerned about – it’s just the only platform that isn’t American.
Banning TikTok is a distraction from the real issue, which is the lack of data privacy laws to protect against misuse of our personal data, which is regularly sold and shared by American companies, too.
If lawmakers are really so concerned about our privacy, why aren’t they trying to protect our data from every company? In my research, I’ve found that the consensus among Really Smart People and cybersecurity experts is that a TikTok ban “distracts from the need for comprehensive legislation that would cover all companies and apps -- preventing them from misusing and selling U.S. consumer data.”
Banning TikTok while failing to regulate the other platforms doesn’t solve the problem, “it just means that platforms like Instagram or Snapchat are going to absorb TikTok users and continue to do to those users all of the things that people are accusing TikTok of potentially doing,” says journalist Jon Ronson.
Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (who is the youngest member of Democratic House Leadership at age 35) wrote “here’s what I’d like to see instead: comprehensive data privacy legislation for all Americans, and thoughtful guardrails for social media platforms – no matter how or where they’re funded. The fact is that our privacy laws are way behind the times, and as our world evolves, our government and laws need to evolve with it.”
This will continue to be a contentious issue, so if you have concerns or want to be more educated on the topic, I would encourage you to listen to this podcast episode that dives into the details of how ByteDance handles user data and the arguments for and against banning TikTok.
🎙 Should America Ban TikTok?
Offline with Jon Favreau