The ball is now in the court of Tiktok’s owner after President Joe Biden signed legislation to pave the way to an American TikTok ban.
President Joe Biden signed a foreign aid package Wednesday that includes the first steps to a possible TikTok ban. The relevant legislation requires that the company that owns TikTok, Chinese tech giant ByteDance, sell its stake within a year. If it doesn’t, the app will be banned in the United States.
That doesn’t mean TikTok is going away anytime soon — even if ByteDance doesn’t sell. Even in April of 2025, assuming ByteDance doesn’t sell off its share, TikTok may still be around here in the U.S. That’s because there will almost certainly be legal challenges that will delay any ban that could take place.
In fact, The Verge reported that TikTok spokesperson Alex Haurek said in a statement that the company plans to challenge the law in the courts.
TikTok CEO Shou Chew weighed in on suggestions that this was merely a move to pull the platform away from Chinese control.
“Make no mistake, this is a ban,” Chew said in a video posted on TikTok Wednesday. “A ban on TikTok and a ban on you and your voice.”
The U.S. isn’t the only country to impose or attempt a TikTok ban
“Lawmakers and regulators in the West have increasingly expressed concern that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, may put sensitive user data, like location information, into the hands of the Chinese government,” The New York Times reported. They have pointed to laws that allow the Chinese government to secretly demand data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence-gathering operations.”
The Times also reported worries that China could use TikTok’s content recommendations to fuel misinformation. There’s also worries about the platform fueling antisemitism.
TikTok has long denied such allegations and has tried to distance itself from ByteDance, the Times reported.
Wikipedia listed countries around the globe that have either banned it completely or on government devices.
India banned it completely in 2020. The African countries of Senegal and Somalia also banned it. In Asia, the governments of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal and Uzbekistan have banned or blocked access.
The European countries of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Iceland, Latvia, Malta, Norway and the UK banned TikTok on government-issued devices.
In North America, Canada has banned it on government-issued devices. In the U.S., the majority of states enacted bans on TikTok on government devices.
Australia banned it on all government devices. New Zealand banned it on devices connected to Parliament.
Azerbaijan has restricted access to the platform.
Taiwan banned it from government and public sector devices in 2022.
Indonesia temporarily banned it over “pornography, inappropriate content and blasphemy.” They lifted the ban after TikTok promised to enlist 20 staff members to censor TikTok content in that country.
Pakistan has issued and then lifted bans on the platform four times.
Biden says his campaign will continue using it
One interesting note, which NBC News reported, is that the Biden campaign confirmed it will continue using the platform. Some Republicans — who’ve pushed the ban through Congress — urged Biden to leave the platform. But a Biden campaign official told the network that’s not happening:
“A fragmented media environment requires us to show up and meet voters where they are — and that includes online,” a Biden campaign official told NBC News. “Tik Tok is one of many places we’re making sure our content is being seen by voters.”
The Biden campaign says it plans to use “every tool we have to reach young voters where they are” and has pledged to keep using “enhanced security measures.”
Republicans wouldn’t raise that kind of stink of Donald Trump was on it, I’m sure. Trump isn’t on TikTok (though he has plenty of supporters there). Trump continues posting his rants — which seem to be getting angrier — on his own Truth Social social platform.
I see both sides of this little mini-battle. It’s ironic that the president who signed a bill that could effectively ban a platform would remain on it for a re-election campaign. At the same time, I also see the need to reach younger voters “where they are.”
Most disturbing to someone like me who has worked in the news business for more than 30 years is the statistic from Pew Research that shows one-third of young people get their news there. I suspect they don’t get much news at all from that platform. A social media platform isn’t the place to get news. It’s the place to get stories that get a lot of buzz, which most of us know is not necessarily the kind of news most news consumers claim they want.
Would a TikTok ban affect you?
I’m not a regular user. I set up an account that I’ve never posted to just so I can monitor a few other accounts. It wouldn’t bother me if it went away.
But then again, I’m probably not TikTok’s target audience, anyway.
Most of what I see when I go there are either random prank videos that I see on YouTube and Facebook as well…or these “random fact videos.” The random fact videos feature the same mechanical-sounding male voice. The voice recites three or four facts — some of which probably aren’t remotely true. There’s also a mention of someone who either loves you, hates you, wants to date you or is a stalker. It’s always the second person you see, according to the videos, when you click “Share” and then “More.”
Funny how one person can feel that many different ways toward you.
I suspect it’s a way just to encourage you to share the video with someone else.
In my case, it doesn’t work.
I know some people who are on TikTok every day. Given what I’ve seen on the platform, honestly, that makes me a little sad for them.