The new bill to ban TikTok infringes on the First Amendment right to have freedom of speech.
TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps in the U.S. today. The app is a place where people can make short videos and build a community; it has also become home to many small businesses and influencers who have made a following on the app.
TikTok also has a strong hold on American culture with over 143.4 million active users on the app every month. This is the most number of users on the app in the world per country according to a study done by Statista in October 2023.
The proposed TikTok ban gives Bytedance, a China-based company and the owners of TikTok, approximately six months to divest TikTok’s U.S. assets to keep the app accessible to U.S. users..
Lawmakers proposed this ban as there is reason to believe that the company Bytedance would have to follow Chinese security laws and divulge American data if it were to be requested by the Chinese government. Another concern raised has been the influence and effect on Americans as a whole.
So, lawmakers have data concerns and worry that China would be able to get the information purely based on the fact that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company and must obey its laws.
If Bytedance doesn’t sell the company then it would become illegal for app stores including Apple and Google to offer the app, cutting off millions of users. This would be detrimental to the free speech that users deserve to have and will create a precedent that is harmful to American society.
People deserve to have their voices heard on social media and deserve to post the content they wish.
This is especially important when looking at how popular the app has become with people and businesses.
Ultimately, this decision is selfish, especially when considering the fact that other hearings regarding TikTok have shown that the CEO Shou Zi Chew is making an effort to prove that Bytedance is willing to protect American data. TikTok has even gone so far as to post its own response video to the bill explaining how data is handled in the United States.
We have never even banned an application nationally in the United States before, at least not a foreign-based application. It would be an abuse of power from the government that should alarm everyone, whether or not you are an active TikTok user.
We have seen TikTok banned before, specifically in Texas. This ban was limited to only government devices. This does not infringe upon First Amendment rights as it is a security risk to the government and they are civil servants. It is a completely different story when looking at a nationwide ban as it is not limited to only government officials, but targeted at everyone.
This act would be the complete opposite of what the American people expect from their government, especially since they are meant to protect our freedoms and follow the Constitution.
I expect, and hope, that even though the House passed the bill, that the Senate will recognize this as the abuse of power that it is and its dangerous infringement of the First Amendment.
