Tick, tock, tick tock, goes the clock, as Jan. 19 approaches. A day that all teenagers are dreading, the TikTok ban. Why is TikTok getting banned? Can it still be used in the U.S. after the ban? What are alternatives? Here’s everything you need to know.
Why is TikTok getting banned?
TikTok is facing a ban over concerns for user privacy and national security. The government’s first reason is fear of Chinese propaganda. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, which is why many legislators are concerned about propaganda. More than 20 legislators justified their support for banning TikTok over this concern, as well as concerns such as the content carried on TikTok. TikTok could possibly stay in usage if ByteDance agrees to sell TikTok to a U.S. company.
What will happen if the ban gets approved?
If the Supreme Court agrees to pass this bill, TikTok will be illegal for distribution through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Internet service providers will be required to make the app inaccessible to U.S. internet browsers. Users who downloaded the app will still be able to access it but will be cut off from future updates, which will lead to the app glitching over time. TikTok officials say that it is possible that when the ban goes into effect, a prompt may come up when users try to open the app, indicating that the service is no longer available in that country. This is what happens when TikTok is opened in India, which banned the app in 2020. Read this NPR story for more details on the fine print of this law.
Are there alternatives?
Currently, there are many apps that use short-form content inspired by TikTok. YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Snapchat Spotlight emulate the vertical composition of TikTok videos and the endless line of scrolling. Another loophole is using a VPN, which encrypts users’ location data and lets you access content available in other countries. However, many TikTok users have been turning to another app, RedNote. Known as Xiaohongshu, or “little red book” in Chinese, RedNote has a layout like Pinterest, and is often described as a Chinese version of Instagram. RedNote had a boost in popularity during the pandemic, which caused the focus to shift more to short-form content, emulating TikTok in ways.
Is there a chance TikTok stays?
Banning TikTok would go directly against the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, contradicting freedom of speech. For the TikTok ban to be fully justified, there has to be real evidence of a threat. The Department of Justice has acknowledged that there is no evidence that China is covertly manipulating TikTok’s content in the U.S. Even though TikTok does collect a large amount of data from users, the government doesn’t have any evidence that this data collection is a national security threat, or how it differs from other companies that also use our data.