The US bans TikTok unless the social network's sold
Last week, President Biden signed into law a bill that gives ByteDance, the China-based owners of social media app TikTok, a year to sell TikTok or see it banned within the United States. The bill passed as part of a basically-must-pass foreign aid package to Ukraine and other countries.
The problems with the TikTok ban
While I’ve never used TikTok (but aware it has problems, like every major social media platform), everything about this ban strikes me as hypocritical, cynical, and ignores the desires of younger Americans (TikTok’s main base).
For starters, this bill is clearly designed to appeal to older voters more likely to respond to Cold War rhetoric, and also less likely to be TikTok users. That’s as opposed to TikTok’s large base of Gen Zers/younger Millennials, who were born or grew up after the fall of the Soviet Union. Granted, older people are also more likely to vote than younger people, so I could see the politicians favoring this figuring the “collateral damage” of a few irate twentysomethings is worth it, if it means ensuring the vote of their parents/grandparents.
This bill also shows (as usual) the problems of Congress related to corporate lobbying, deregulation, and tech illiteracy. While TikTok certainly has problems, many of them are also the same problems with American-owned social networks such as Facebook and Instagram. Congress passing online privacy laws would go a lot further to protect users and reign in the worst aspects of social media.
The fact the bill was passed as part of a bigger, must-pass package (after several earlier attempts as stand-alone bills didn’t get much traction) also highlights the cynical nature of this ban. Biden certainly wasn’t going to veto aid to Ukraine because of Congress’ social network hijinks.
I imagine some in Congress figure TikTok’s “just a social network” and thus disposable, in the same way that some condescendingly tell sci-fi or animation fans “it’s just a TV show, who cares?” Admittedly, I can see the logic behind this—TikTok’s a video playing app, not a vital piece of online infrastructure like email. Also backing this view up: Instagram and YouTube exist, and both A) are American-owned, B) are popular, and C) offer short-form videos. Politicians might argue that TikTok users can just switch to those two (ignoring the differences in online cultures, etc.) to get their influencer videos?
Finally, the TikTok ban also sets a bad precedent, both internationally and within the United States. See: some states’ laws about social networks—which can throw up obstacles for LGBTQ youth.
Likely scenarios
Regardless of motivations, the bill’s passed, so now ByteDance’s options are: A) try to fight this in court, B) sell TikTok, or C) shutter TikTok in the US.
“A” is clearly an option they’ll pursue, though it requires a court to favor them over ban proponents’ “dirty Commies!” arguments. That said, some feel TikTok might have strong first amendment based reasons on its side.
“B” is something ByteDance has said they won’t or don’t want to do, and I wouldn’t blame them; the app still exists in most of the rest of the world. (Unless the United States’ actions sets a precedent/pressure on other countries to do the same.) There’s also the question of who would buy TikTok.
“C” is the worst-case scenario. I assume a TikTok ban consists of forcing Google, Apple, and Amazon to remove the TikTok app from their stores, while also having ISPs block access to TikTok’s servers or require TikTok to geoblock the US (the same way I can’t access the Canadian versions of Netflix or Disney+ from the US). ByteDance would take a revenue hit from leaving the US, but the majority of its revenue comes from TikTok's China-only version, Douyin.
While VPNs and sideloading exist, I don’t see the average TikTok user going to such an effort. The average person’s tech skills are already mediocre at best, and the general public's tech usage has made clear that convenience will win above all else. See: people not doing basic things like installing phone/computer updates, using strong passwords (versus “12345”), or backing up their computer files.
Worst-case scenario for TikTok
The most likely worst-case outcome I foresee: ByteDance fails to prevail in court, and refuses to sell the app, thus leading to TikTok’s eventual ban in the United States. American TikTok users grumble, but ultimately shrug and go back to using Instagram or YouTube, assuming something better/new doesn’t come along. (Also thus reinforcing the ban backers’ “they can use something else” assumptions.) The politicians backing the ban get to score easy points in this fall’s election with voters who likely also never used TikTok. All of this also sets a precedent for something similar (or worse) coming along in the future. Meanwhile, TikTok creators scramble to switch their audience to following them on Instagram/YouTube, as well as having to adjust their content for those platforms.
Conclusion
How do you feel about the TikTok ban? Do you ever use TikTok?