By: Aaron Li
America has long championed freedom of the press, but with the potential ban of TikTok, is it still true?
An unprecedented law was passed in the White House on April 24, 2024, has sparked massive protests. It will ban the social media platform TikTok if Chinese tech giant ByteDance does not divest from its stake in the platform. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA) will prevent new users from downloading the app, as well as will prevent any new uploads from being accessible. Posting videos and receiving updates will also become impossible, should ByteDance keep its stake in the company. However, don’t quite worry about TikTok just yet. It is allowed 270 days to find a buyer, along with a 90 day grace period. TikTok has called the act “unconstitutional” and has filed a lawsuit against the federal government. Until the case is resolved, TikTok will still be fully functional.
Even if PAFACA seems like a violation of the First Amendment, the Biden administration believes that they have a legitimate reason and right for banning TikTok. They believe that China may take and use sensitive user data to spy and expose certain military secrets. Studies have been found that younger Americans watch more TikTok and seem to have greater sympathy for Palestine than Israel. As a result, the Biden administration believes China can and has spread misinformation through ByteDance.
Unlike America, China does not have a limitation to what the prime minister can do. Prime Minister Xi Jinping(习近平) has used this power quite regularly to sign bills, tightening his grip on China. One of these laws requires “all organizations and citizens to support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts in accordance with law, and shall protect national intelligence work secrets they are aware of.” This includes any subsidiaries that a Chinese company may own. TikTok is no exception, and as a result, China has total control over the information that circulates in TikTok. Even so, there is little basis on the passing of PAFCA into law, except that China has put the “so-called private sector in a chokehold.”
There are many other countries that have already banned TikTok, setting a precedent for what a US ban might look like. Following border skirmishes with China, India outright banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok. India has stated that it was a security threat, as well as economic sanction. Most viewers and content creators have now switched to Youtube shorts and Instagram, helping refuel the hype of the short video. Several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, have blocked connections to TikTok for violating Islamic law, calling it “blasphemy.” Meanwhile, NATO and the EU have blocked TikTok for security reasons on government-issued devices, but no country has completely blocked the app. Montana is the only state to have completely done this, but a scenario like that of India’s may occur, should the US government win TikTok v. US case.