TikTok could be banned in the US by 2024.
Yes, you read that right. There’s been a lot of talk over the past couple of years on banning TikTok, and this time, it could actually happen.
US Lawmakers Introduce a Bill Barring ByteDance-Controlled Platforms from US App Stores and Web Hosting Services
On Wednesday (6 March), a bipartisan group of 20 US lawmakers introduced a bill barring platforms controlled by Chinese technology company ByteDance from US app stores or web hosting services. These ByteDance-controlled platforms will only be allowed if they are no longer linked to China.
Huh? ByteDance is simi?
We’ll jog your memory a little — the Beijing-headquartered company ByteDance is the company that developed TikTok and Douyin, amongst other notable apps.
If you watched the recent congressional hearings that TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was involved in, you probably have an idea of why US lawmakers have introduced such a bill.
Quite simply, it’s because ByteDance is a Chinese company with control over what can be said to be one of the most successful social media apps in history — TikTok — and the US is pushing to keep such popular social media apps out of the control of their foreign adversaries, such as China.
“We simply cannot allow an app controlled by our nation’s foremost adversary and competitor to take over the American media landscape,” said Mike Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
He added: “This is my message to TikTok: break up with the Chinese Communist Party or lose access to your American users.”
Rationale Behind Bill: Data & National Security Concerns
While the bill is generally meant to address threats posed by ByteDance-controlled platforms to US data and national security, it appears that a strong motivating factor behind this bill is the perceived threat posed, in particular, by TikTok to US data and national security.
After all, nearly everyone is using TikTok; even those in the US government. It’s no wonder that the White House has specifically noted national security concerns about the use of TikTok on government devices — several US politicians have alleged that TikTok has been used as an espionage tool by Beijing.
Whether or not TikTok actually is being used by the Chinese government to spy on people and in particular, the US government, we don’t know — but the US isn’t the only one with such a concern.
Around the world, regulators have also surfaced concerns about TikTok user data being accessed by Chinese-based employees or government entities in Beijing. These concerns were further cemented after December 2022, when ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, admitted that its employees had accessed the data of two journalists.
So, for all you know, TikTok just might know about that one time you stole that $10 ang bao from your brother when he wasn’t looking.
Owing to these concerns, TikTok was nearly banned multiple times in the US.
Will TikTok be Banned in the US?
It’s not the first time we’ve heard about US concerns of a foreign “adversary” taking over the American media landscape. For this reason, it’s also not the first time we’ve seen the US attempt to ban ByteDance-controlled platforms.
But it seems like this time, the attempt might prove successful — meaning that TikTok risks actually being banned throughout the US.
The new bill gives ByteDance roughly six months to divest TikTok; in other words, to break up with TikTok.
The issue is this — it appears that a full ban on TikTok won’t come easy. In 2020, US courts blocked the previous president Donald Trump’s effort to ban TikTok. And just last year, a US judge blocked Montana’s state ban on TikTok because the ban violated the right to free speech.
How now, brown cow…
So, what’s your take? Do you think we’ll see a fully TikTok-free America this time?
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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