The TikTok Ban and Its Effects on the U.S., by Zoey P.

TikTok has inspired countless numbers of people to explore the more creative side of life. Through making videos, posting content, and promoting small businesses, TikTok has provided the perfect opportunity to express yourself and build self confidence. 

Why is it Being Banned?

The most definite reason the U.S. government is banning TikTok is because they are concerned that the Chinese company owning TikTok (ByteDance), is mining American data and that eventually, they will be forced to sell that data to the Chinese government. The U.S. Justice Department claims that TikTok “a national-security threat of immense depth and scale,” worrying about a possible breach of privacy on a mass scale.

What are the Next Congressional Steps?

Though this act has been in progress for almost a year now, it will finally be coming to an official completion. After a lot of modifications and rough drafts, this act finally passed through the House and the U.S. Senate before getting signed by Joe Biden in April of 2024. The act itself was called the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, and stated that the government has the authority to ban foreign-owned apps that it deems a threat to national security. Because of this act, ByteDance had until January 19, 2025 to sell TikTok. TikTok has unfortunately not been sold yet, so the ban will continue to be placed into effect. 

Are There Any Alternatives to TikTok?

Many people have already started flocking to a multitude of new and different social media platforms in place of TikTok, some of the more popular apps being RedNote (小红书）and Lemon8. RedNote is a prominently Chinese app, with its existing members living and operating in China. The entire app is also in Simplified Mandarin, a dialect spoken widely in China. This has not stopped its new American influencers however, with about 160,000 already switching to RedNote. Some say that RedNote was the ideal choice because they wanted to show our government that they didn’t care that TikTok was owned by a Chinese company. 

Many different billionaires have made bids to buy TikTok, such as Elon Musk, MrBeast and Frank McCourt, but none have been able to buy the multi billion dollar site. Will someone be able to buy it before the 19th of January, or will this beloved social media platform be banned for the citizens of America?