John,

Last week, Congress passed a bill to ban TikTok over national security concerns. Joe Biden has already pledged to sign the bill if it makes it to his desk, but first, it has to pass the Senate.

It’s all happening very quickly, but here’s the most important question: Is banning TikTok even the right move?

We’ll get into the arguments on both sides in a minute, but if you’re ready to let us know what you think, go ahead and answer our survey! [[link removed]]

Okay, John, so why the sudden rush to ban TikTok?

In a rare moment of bipartisanship, politicians on both sides of the aisle have compelling concerns about the app.

First of all, like Facebook, X , and YouTube, TikTok struggles to implement content moderation. With over 170 million U.S. users on the app, misinformation is thriving. This includes political conspiracy theories but also weird trends like drinking Borax.

Secondly, TikTok is owned by a Chinese company with ties to the Chinese government. The company collects plenty of data on its users, and it’s unclear just how private that data is. Many in the national security field have warned that China could weaponize TikTok in the event of a war with the United States.

The other side's argument is that TikTok’s problems happen on all social media platforms. For example, we know the Russian government used Facebook to inflame political division and spread pro-Trump misinformation in 2020. American social media companies are known to collect and sell user data, too.

Organizations like the ACLU say the anti-TikTok fervor is rooted in anti-Asian sentiment, further evidenced by last year’s hearing where Senators grilled the Singaporean TikTok CEO about his connections to China. 😬

Finally, if TikTok is banned, online influencers will have one less (extremely powerful) way to share content. TikTok’s extremely addictive short video format has been incredible at generating huge volumes of views. That has provided an unparalleled way for online content creators to amass huge followings and steady income streams.

So, what do you think, John? Is banning TikTok the right move or should the government just do a better job at regulating social media companies in general? We want to hear from you! [[link removed]]

Take our survey ➡️ [[link removed]]

Thank you for your time,
The COURIER team

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