Proposed TikTok sale or ban protects American security | Opinion
Last Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan bill forcing the Chinese-owned ByteDance to divest from TikTok. On Tuesday night, the Senate passed the bill 79-18. Last month, the House passed a nearly identical bill 352-65. The law requires the sale of TikTok to an entity not considered a “foreign adversary,” or else shutting it down in the United States. ByteDance has until Jan. 19 to complete the company sale, but the company has said it would prefer to simply shut down in the U.S. Meanwhile, Microsoft, “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, and former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have, in the past months, expressed interest in purchasing TikTok.
For want of protecting children and national security, I applaud the bipartisan work of Congress and thank Biden for leaving party politics aside and ensuring this bill becomes a law.
U.S. lawmakers and national security leaders alike are concerned about the access Chinese Communist Party officials have to TikTok user data. FBI Director Christopher Wray has repeatedly said that ByteDance is “controlled by the Chinese government,” despite company leaders’ protestations otherwise. Wray has also warned that Chinese authorities can influence users by manipulating content algorithms on its app and can collect user data for “traditional espionage operations.”
Last year, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took an important step by banning TikTok on school networks as a way to promote schoolwork. The ban took effect July 1, 2023. Recognizing that there are ways to circumvent the ban, like using cellular networks separate from school-run WiFi networks, the bill requires social and emotional education related to the uses and harms of social media.
DeSantis’ measures are part of a broader movement among states to address the challenges posed by TikTok and similar platforms. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, joining other states including Arkansas and Indiana, filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging harm to the mental health of children and teens. The lawsuit alleges that “highly powerful algorithms and manipulative design features” entice users to use the app.
This ban comes at an interesting time in U.S.-China relations. Last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he was headed to Shanghai and Beijing for “intensive face-to-face diplomacy.” During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in San Francisco last November, Biden met with President Xi Jinping of China and discussed, among other issues, the need to address the risks of advanced AI systems and that the United States will take action to prevent U.S. technologies from being used to undermine national security.
We may be on the brink of a greater feud. China’s Cyberspace Administration asked Apple to remove Meta’s WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store. Without merit, the Chinese government cited national security concerns. Facebook, Instagram and Messenger remain.
Gen Z is over reliant on TikTok. Of Americans aged 18-29, 32% say they regularly get news from TikTok. We are seeing the effects of this. After the brutal Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, there was a surge of pro-Palestinian content on TikTok. At its peak, 98.6% of U.S.-viewed videos about the war carried a pro-Palestinian hashtag. A study conducted by Generation Lab found that those who spent 30 minutes daily on TikTok are 17% more likely to agree with antisemitic statements like “Jewish people chase money more than other people do.”
China has prevented its citizens from accessing the U.S.-based apps misaligned with its strict censorship standards. Despite facing significant public outcry, Congress and the president took actions they believed were correct, a particularly bold move in an election year.
Andrew Grub is a resident of Weston and a student at American University’s School of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., studying political science and public policy.