TikTok, the short form social media platform that took the world by storm in 2018, is coming under continued scrutiny and faces a potential ban in the US over security concerns stemming from being owned by Chinese company, ByteDance. From Trump’s administration threatening to ban it in 2020, to 2024, with the US banning it unless it was sold to a US Owner. This culminated in it being banned for less than 24 hours at the end of the Biden administration, with Trump’s new administration giving a 90 day grace period. So what’s next? And should it be banned?

I believe firmly it should be banned for two primary reasons, security and privacy concerns as well as its ‘brain rotting’ effects on society, particularly for young people.

Firstly ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, follows Chinese laws which require it to provide data to the Chinese government and intelligence agencies. I believe this has the potential to be a national security threat, because the influence the app has could be used to swing elections, especially as it’s popular among politicians for campaigning. For example, President Trump succeeded in mass engagement on the platform during the recent US election. This could cause problems for democracy when foreign actors interfere with elections. I also have concerns that personal data of individuals could be stored in an insecure way that allows the Chinese Governments access to it if they wish. As such, I believe TikTok should be banned on the grounds of being a national security risk alone in the US and we as in the UK should follow suit.

I believe firmly it should be banned for two primary reasons, security and privacy concerns as well as its ‘brain rotting’ effects on society, particularly for young people

My second reason why I believe it should be banned, is that the content is absolute brain rot, with over 1 billion active monthly users, it is causing people to have reduced attention spans and I believe this is a major concern for the functioning of society especially for the younger generation who now often grow up as “iPad Kids” being given an iPad before books or literature. I think the prolonged use of non-educational short form content will have long lasting catastrophic impacts on society in the future. From the capabilities of people to carry out jobs, to engage in education and socially, to develop friendships and relationships.

However I can not ignore the benefits of TikTok, when utilised effectively and properly, it can and has increasingly been an invaluable tool in the world of politics and lobbying, in regards to be able to get key messaging out to the masses with relative ease. But this is a minority use case, and unless it is sold to a company that does not have dubious records when it comes to privacy, surveillance and secure data storage, then it should be banned in the US, UK and Western nations. You never know if cyberwarfare is being used and as such Western states must take proactive measures to not only protect domestic affairs but society and the future functioning of it. 

Image: iXimus via Pixabay