Communism or Community: TikTok’s Fight Against a National Ban

BY LEANDER SHINDELL
​     Lights, camera,... action? What do you do when the stage lights flicker? When someone unplugs them, turns the power off? Or, just when you think they’re unfixable, they surge back on?
    The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, was recently passed giving TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, until January 19 to sell the platform to an American owner or face a nationwide ban.

PHOTO CREDIT: Leander Shindell
Juniors Conlan Sharp and Sehar Kittur and sophomore Olaitan Ajasa enjoy using TikTok. Many young people use the app as a source of news as well as entertainment.

ByteDance is a Chinese company, meaning the government owns 1% of its domestic unit in Beijing. However, TikTok itself is banned in mainland China and is based in LA and Singapore. On January 19, American users were met with a message that TikTok was currently unavailable in their area. 14 hours later, they were informed that the app was back, “thanks to the efforts of President Trump”. The President, who supported a TikTok ban during his first term, signed an executive order giving ByteDance 75 more days to comply with the House bill. 
     “The (Supreme) Court found that protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act does not violate the First Amendment, and so it left the ban in place, making it unlawful for US companies to provide services to the Tiktok app,” Ms. Amos, AP Government and Politics teacher, explained. 
     In May 2024, ByteDance and several TikTok users filed a lawsuit arguing that the ban was unconstitutional as it violated private property rights and the First Amendment, a lawsuit which the Supreme Court overruled unanimously in December. The new bill’s intention is to prevent the potential gathering of American user data through Bytedance, which is legally required by the Chinese government to establish a Communist Party committee of party-member employees.
      “[The government] wants to encourage national security, and strengthen that so that America is protected and people's information and privacy is protected, but then we're going to not ban it. We're not going to uphold the ban, so therefore people can continue to use this platform that may be jeopardizing his same ideas and principles,” Amos worried. 
     Many users are concerned that removal of platforms like TikTok under the guise of national security interests could lead to future censorship of controversial political opinions and events. 
      “Tiktok is a very free app, which is good because it gives people a comfortable place to speak their mind and share things that are happening in the world. I will say the news stations have been lacking in giving us information on events to the point where the generations above us have been saying the exact same thing,” Set Williams, DSA Junior and TikTok user, expressed.
      On social media sites like TikTok, where journalism is no longer limited to professionals and published newspapers, many worry about the risk of misinformation. 
      “It’s [news] mainly coming from the people. I guess the things that are coming out of peoples mouths may not be true all the time, but… people speaking about their own experiences, so firsthand things, how they feel… a lot of the times its just them [users] reading from it [articles] and giving their opinion,” Permelia Omuchei, president of Crossing the Divide club, opined. 

       Due to the accessibility of sites like TikTok, a myriad of different types of videos and opinions, political or not, are readily available. However, social media algorithms designed to tailor users’ “for you pages” can limit exposure to opposing views and be an inaccurate source of news. 
​      “I think that's dangerous for all of us when we are not hearing a variety of ideas, opinions, examinations of news topics, especially when it comes to candidates, politics, policy, yeah, so I think we have to be really careful relying on a single source,” Amos warned. 
       When it comes to politics, many people tend to use only sources whose views align with theirs, including newspapers,  which worsens polarization and can lead to uninformed opinions. By using sites like TikTok, politicians can effectively access youth through a medium they use and enjoy.
      “I think that TikTok is changing when it comes to people being genuine or not. I think social media has changed the way that politics work, especially when it comes to things like electing a president… a lot of the time because TikTok is such a strong force people like to just go with the flow on the app,” Omuchei worried. 
      Since the ban and rapidly ensuing revival of TikTok, many young users have reported a lower desire to use the app due to its association with Donald Trump. However, social media continues to influence the lives of young people, no matter how much they use it. 
      “I’ve not been using it as much anymore. Partially because of what I'm seeing on my fyp, and partially because I think it's dumb that he’s taking credit for ]saving] TikTok…. social media I think is a problem when it comes down to political stuff because you're so used to just forgiving and forgetting when it comes down to popular people,” Williams noted.
      However, all hope is not lost for TikTok. Though its future is thus far unknown, Amos predicts that the TikTok ban is unlikely to go into effect during the next four years of Trump’s presidency. 
      “I’m not worried about the censorship of TikTok though, because I believe and I hope and I know that the American people are resilient. The history of America is about determination, and there are many stories and events in American history that establish and show that determination. People are loud and people speak their mind. You cannot stop that by taking down TikTok. People will find other ways, so I’m not worried,” Williams asserted. 

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