TikTok Ban: A Case for National Security or a Gag on Free Speech
The US supreme court has upheld the ban on social media app, TikTok which will commence on 19th of January, 2025. The United State Congress in April 2024 demanded that the social media app either sell to a non-Chinese-based company or to cease its operation in the United State, citing national security concerns. Congress expressed concern that ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese based parent company, will share data of US citizens using the app with the Chinese government. This data could be used to spy on US citizens and to spread propaganda. The US Congress considers this a national risk. There are currently about 170 million US based users of the app.
A Case for National Security vs Gag on Free Speech
US Congress had earlier passed a law requiring TikTok to either sell the company to a non-Chinese based company or to stop its operations in the US. The outgoing president Joe Biden subsequently signed this into law in April of 2024. This news continues to grab headlines even though the US is not the first country to ban TikTok. Some other countries have imposed various degrees of restrictions/bans on the use of the app. For example, the government of India in 2020 banned the social media app from operating in the country. In 2023, the UK government banned staff from installing the app on staff devices used for official work. Other countries that have imposed restrictions on the use of the app include Iran, Somalia, Afghanistan and Nepal.
The ban by the United States has led to some users questioning the real motive behind the ban. Some users of the app call it a gag on free speech and the motive is purely political. These users argue that TikTok is caught between the conflict of two world powers. The offer made by the CEO of TikTok also supports this argument. The CEO offered to separate the data of US users from users in other countries (Project Texas). Lawyers representing TikTok also argued in the US supreme court that it is “profoundly unconstitutional” that the government is barring Americans from accessing a venue for free speech.
Alternative for Users
While the political discussion dominates the ban on TikTok, a thought should be spared for the 170 million US users who will lose access to their favourite app when the ban takes effect. A popular Chinese social media site, RedNote has seen a surge in US downloads. Report claims that RedNote has seen a surge of over 700,000 downloads from the United States since the past few days. This trend will likely grow due to lack of the usual restrictions on users of RedNote imposed by the Chinese government. This has made free interactions between Chinese users and the rest of the world easy. This migration challenges the argument that national security is one of the reasons for imposing a ban on TikTok.
Conclusion
TikTok employs approximately 7,000 employees in the US and the impending job loss if this ban takes effect will have a negative impact on the US economy. The president-elect Donald Trump confirmed that he discussed various topics with the Chinese president including TikTok. Observers anticipate an amicable resolution and the social media app will resume operations.
Meanwhile, many believe that users will find a suitable alternative to TikTok given the proliferation of social media apps.
