For almost nine years, TikTok has captivated the world. People use the platform to bring attention to major issues, such as mental health and climate change, as well as sharing fashion tips and hair styling advice; not to mention that TikTok is an at the ready source for relaxation and fun. However, it is extremely likely that TikTok is going to be banned in America, and this has left the 170 million U.S. users with one question: Why?
In the spring of 2024, President Biden signed The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) into law. This bill gives the government the power to ban foreign-owned apps if they believe the app poses a threat to national security.
The U.S. gave ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, until January 19, 2025, to sell TikTok to an American company. It was made clear that if this didn’t happen, TikTok would be banned in the United States. After PAFACA was signed into law, TikTok filed a lawsuit, claiming that the law violated the rights given to Americans in the First Amendment.
On December 6th, 2024, a board of federal judges unanimously decided to uphold the law’s constitutionality. TikTok then decided to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court on December 16th. On January 10th, 2025, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments, but still unanimously affirmed the constitutionality of the ban on January 17th.
Political leaders worried that TikTok gave the Chinese government access to Americans’ data, which they could use to sway public opinion and spread misinformation.There were also concerns that TikTok would share its users’ personal information with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which could lead to identity theft.
At 10:50 p.m. on January 18th, TikTok was removed from Google and Apple’s app stores. American TikTok users were also informed at this time that the app was no longer available.
However, President Trump signed an executive order to delay the enforcement of the ban two days later. The delay will last for 75 days, and it allows previous consumers of the app to continue their usage, but the app is still missing from multiple app stores.
There are valid reasons for the TikTok ban. One of these is that TikTok constitutes a threat to national security. Chinese companies are required to share information they gather with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This information includes users’ private data.
The Chinese government could be using ByteDance to spy on American citizens. If this is truly what is happening, the CCP would be able to manipulate the app’s algorithm, allowing them to expose Americans to communist propaganda. The concern is that subconscious exposure to communist propaganda could potentially influence domestic and international policy, elections, and other political proceedings.
TikTok is also filled with misinformation that can be dangerous and inappropriate. The app promotes videos that contain misleading clips of speeches, “tutorials” to make dangerous drugs at home, extremists’ false political claims, etc. People see TikTok as a fact checker, but the information included in videos discussing important topics is often false.
TikTok also popularizes challenges that are hazardous and fatal. In 2018, there was an increased number of calls to poison control centers because of the “Tide Pod challenge,” which encouraged viewers to bite down on a laundry detergent packet. This led to the consumption of toxic chemicals, which can burn the mouth, respiratory tract, and esophagus.
The “Blackout challenge,” which dared viewers to choke each other to the point of unconsciousness, was also very popular, and it resulted in at least 20 deaths.
The U.S. government also thinks that in order to protect America, a “tough on China” approach is needed. The FBI has identified China itself as a growing national security concern, and the Chinese Communist Party as a threat to the nation’s economy and democratic values.
Politicians argue that the Chinese government infringing on Americans’ privacy through TikTok makes the situation with China much worse. In the past few years, Chinese espionage activities have been amped up. From January 28th to February 4th of 2023, a Chinese spy balloon was operating over the U.S., gathering intelligence from American military sites.In April, 2023, two New York residents were arrested for running an overseas police station for a branch of the Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China.
However, Pellaeon Lin, researcher at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab has pointed out that TikTok isn’t more of a threat to people than other American-owned social media sites that also collect and sell user data.Lin also found that TikTok actually collects less data than extremely popular apps such as Facebook and Google.
Lin thinks that instead of banning TikTok, the government should make more of an effort to protect user information on all apps. Technology columnist Geoffrey Fowler said that TikTok appears to be no more risky than Facebook for the average user.However, he also thinks that the American government should better regulate the whole social media industry instead of making TikTok a scapegoat.
Some also argue that banning TikTok is undemocratic and discriminatory. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky thinks that the TikTok ban emulates the Chinese speech bans, which greatly restrict freedom of expression in China.
Also, as many as 5 million small businesses rely on TikTok for promotions and sales. The TikTok ban will destroy a lot of these businesses who use the app in hope of expansion and success.TikTok is also a legitimate revenue source for influencers. Small accounts report between $9 to $38 a day, which provides a small boost, but additional income from the app can be quite a large sum due to brand deals. For instance, football player Jon Seaton earned $250,000 through TikTok deals with Dr. Pepper and Meta.
Some accuse the U.S. government of being xenophobic for singling out China and TikTok for recriminations. In other words, the TikTok ban was only put into action because the U.S. fears China.
Some argue that if TikTok was owned by a British or Australian company, the ban would never have even been mentioned. Also, banning TikTok helps promote American social media platforms that also collect users’ data. Some theorize that the only reason for the ban is the pressure on the U.S. to be tough on China.
There have been many different arguments made both in favor of and against the TikTok ban, and although the 75 day delay on the TikTok ban has brought relief to the many American users, everyone is still waiting with bated breath to hear the fate of TikTok.
