Since 2018, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms across the world. Approximately 1.29 billion people are active monthly users on TikTok. For the longest time, this platform has been a form of entertainment, news, trends, and a way for people to share their creativity.
“It makes me laugh…I enjoy learning the new dances,” said sophomore Jazmine Carrion.
However, throughout the past couple of years there’s been a threat of a TikTok ban in the U.S and it’s come back in 2024. A new TikTok ban bill was introduced to the House on March 5, 2024, referred to as the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.” Lawmakers are concerned about the privacy of Americans, believing the Chinese government could demand personal data. Very quickly, this attracted attention from small TikTok users to large content creators all around the world and some are even speaking out about the bill. For instance, well-known makeup guru, James Charles, voiced his opinion about the bill during an interview at the GLAAD Media Awards.
“It makes me so mad beyond [censored] belief,” said Charles, “…and TikTok is our most pressing concern? I don’t think so.”
If the bill is passed it would require ByteDance, the owners of the app, to sell TikTok in 165 days to a U.S company otherwise the app will be banned from app stores and web-hosting services in the U.S.
On March 13th, the House voted on the bill. The end results came out to a vote of 352 to 65 which now leads the bill to the Senate. If the Senate passes the bill, the final step would be the President signing it. President Joe Biden has already stated he will sign the bill if it gets to him.
Many users have come to have mixed feelings when it comes to the idea of their favorite app possibly being removed from their phones. Some believe their freedom of speech is being taken away, others find themselves calmer and looking towards other social media platforms.
“…I personally don’t think I’ll be upset about it since content creators usually post the same videos on other platforms like Instagram,” said sophomore Larissa Cadet.
There’s a side for the ban and a side against the ban, but some users are more focused on the reason the government is focusing on a TikTok ban compared to other things, much like James Charles’ opinion.
“I’m pretty neutral on the TikTok ban. I think it’s stupid that this is what our government decides to focus our time and resources towards…”, said junior Taylor Goncalves.
While there’s still a lot of time and voting left, TikTok hasn’t wasted time trying to save their app. Within the past weeks, users have opened the app to a message telling them to find their representative and send them a call explaining why they should vote against the TikTok ban. The fate of the world’s favorite app is unknown for now and only time will tell if people will have to resort to a new app for most of their entertainment and news.
