By: Kaitlyn Dai '27 and Ashley Chan '27
During its short-lived 14-hour blackout on January 19, 2025, many of TikTok’s 170 million nationwide users took to other online forums to express their grief. “I wasn’t ready, I still had over an hour of doom scrolling,” one person wrote online when TikTok implemented its ban two hours before midnight. Content creators posted videos bidding their farewells, and people in the comments agonized over TikTok’s inevitable end.
What seemed like “just another social media platform” was, in fact, the lifeline of the whole nation. According to Exploding Topics, around 32% of a user’s social media time is spent on TikTok, averaging an hour daily. Unsurprisingly, millions of people across the nation felt shocked and hopeless when TikTok was banned.
TikTok’s history dates all the way back to 2017, when ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok, merged Musical.ly with TikTok, creating the ultimate short-form video app. Since then, millions of users globally have used the app to create content, spread awareness, connect, and even make a living.
Nevertheless, this ban was bound to happen. Foreshadowed by the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA), this bill was signed into law in April 2024 by President Joe Biden to prevent “foreign adversaries, such as China, from targeting, surveilling, and manipulating the American people through online applications like TikTok.” Specifically, it gave TikTok nine months to either find a US-approved buyer or for it to be banned nationwide.
There were two major concerns about keeping TikTok, the first being, data and ownership concerns, and the second is the mental impact on adolescents. The Supreme Court raised concerns about privacy and data due to TikTok’s massive user base. TikTok collects a wide range of data from its users, from information about their interests, preferences, habits, and moods to information about the internet and user locations. However, the issue arises not from how much data is collected from TikTok but about where the potentially sensitive information could end up and how it could be used. There is debate and contention surrounding this issue for two reasons: the Chinese ownership of the app and the lack of transparency about where the information ends up and how it is used.
Given China’s infamously strict data retention laws, such as the 2017 National Intelligence Laws—which state that companies must cooperate with state intelligence if requested—there is concern about the potential exploitation of user data for surveillance purposes. Furthermore, there is concern about potential content control and censorship issues, such that the Chinese government may censor specific topics to influence public opinions on particular issues. Especially considering the growing reliance on the platform to stay informed, even subtle manipulation of content could influence a massive sway on how particular topics are perceived.
Additionally, even though it is not necessarily cited as an official reason for the ban, there is growing concern raised by educators, parents, and mental health professionals alike surrounding the cognitive impact of TikTok on developing brains. The TikTok algorithm, known for its 15-second short clips, is designed to capture and retain attention for as long as possible. These algorithms are thought to lead to shortened attention spans among younger generations and contribute to the general addictive nature of the platform.
Currently, there is still no concrete evidence that the Chinese government has coordinated with ByteDance to access TikTok’s collected information. Banning TikTok would endanger the constitutional rights of all Americans to speak and receive online information. The First Amendment states that everyone exercises the right to freedom of speech, and banning TikTok based on claims supported with minimal evidence raises the question of whether the US government has the right to infringe upon people’s First Amendment rights.
So far, the conflict has been surrounding whether or not TikTok should be sold to the US; however, this debate begs the question: Even if TikTok were to be sold to the US, how much of the harm would be mitigated? The reality is that the current uncertainties surrounding TikTok’s algorithm and data practices go beyond the company's ownership; they are caused by the fundamental lack of transparency in their practices surrounding both TikTok’s code and user data. The public is kept in the dark about key information that would be crucial in evaluating both potential risks and the severity of those risks, whether it be related to data concerns or the mental impact of the platform on young people.
The concerns surrounding TikTok are valid, yet the most effective solution is not to either ban or not ban the platform in its entirety. Instead, experts believe the best solution is to work with the platform to encourage transparency and accessibility. By open-sourcing TikTok’s code, the government can ensure the platform adheres to ethical and security standards, all while respecting constitutional rights. In addition, doing so would set an important precedent for other social media platforms regarding the importance of prioritizing transparency and the well-being of users. Ultimately, solutions that are pursued to solve such issues should strike the delicate balance of both safeguarding rights and freedoms while fostering open discourse and accountability.
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