By: Phoebe Huang

On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, President Biden signed into law legislation that gives ByteDance a maximum of one year to sell TikTok before it gets banned. The ban emerged from rising concerns around the data-security of the popular social media app’s parent company, ByteDance. In retailiation, ByteDance is suing government in a case that is likely to be fought out in the Supreme Court.

So, what are these concerns? Many lawmakers and regulators have pointed out Chinese laws that allow the government to obtain data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence-gathering operations secretively. Many citizens are also sharing worries on China using TikTok’s content recommendation to spread misinformation and influence, especially around the the Israel-Hamas war and upcoming presidential election. TikTok has denied these allegations and distanced itself from its parent company to avoid more trouble.

Many governments have already considered banning TikTok. In 2020, India banned TikTok, causing ByteDance to lose one of its biggest markets. The government had investigated many Chinese-owned apps, concluding that information was being secretly transmitted to foreign servers. TikTok has also been banned on official devices in countries like Britain, Australia, Canada, and many others. Taiwan’s minister of digital affairs recently declared that TikTok is a dangerous product.

If this ban takes place, device-producing-companies will have to remove TikTok from their app stores. Browsing companies like Chrome are also restircted from letting users continue to use TikTok.

A sale on TikTok already has potential buyers like a group of investors brought together by a former Treasury Secretary, large American corporations, or a coalition of private equity firms.

TikTok will still be available in the U.S. for now. Most of the existing bans allow governments and universities to keep the app off devices or networks that they own and operate. TikTok will not yet be removed from personal phones and legal challenges could stop the ban from going into effect.

The argument over the ban is still taking place. Meanwhile, it is also important to take a break from short-form content even if TikTok is not banned. To protect your privacy on TikTok, you can choose to not give apps permission to access your location or contaccts, or you can watch without an account.