The Biden administration is considering pressuring Congress to pass legislation that would grant the executive branch the direct authority to regulate TikTok as they see fit. This bipartisan bill is currently being drafted in the Senate. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has testified in front of Congress. This shift comes after a growing push for greater restrictions on the social media platform in recent months. Other proposed bills are seeking to ban the app outright. In November, the FCC Commissioner admitted that he sees limited options going forward that don’t involve a ban. The United States already prohibits downloading TikTok on official devices, and a number of college campuses don’t allow social media platforms on their wifi networks. Now, the White House is considering further action.
The United States is hardly the first country to consider restricting the social media platform. The EU and Canada have also banned the app from government devices. In 2020, India opted to ban TikTok altogether within its country, affecting the company’s reach in one of the world’s biggest markets. Despite this, TikTok currently has 1.5 billion users. Greater restrictions by Western governments could significantly limit this user base.
The reason behind targeting TikTok? An issue of national security. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company. Government officials have cited certain Chinese laws that allow its government to demand user data from companies, such as location information about American citizens. There are also concerns about political influence campaigns that TikTok may be enabled to push a more China-friendly narrative within the app. Though the company has repeatedly insisted on its data privacy, governments are skeptical. An incident in December where ByteDance employees accessed TikTok’s data to discover the sources of Western journalists questioning the social media platform’s credibility, has only led to increased suspicion and threats of further action.
TikTok has dismissed these threats as nothing more than “political theater.” In addition to repeated statements promising their users’ data will be safe, the company has also been engaging in negotiations with the Council on Foreign Investment in the US and has submitted a 90-page proposal detailing its plan to protect consumer data. To address concerns about Chinese influence on content, the company uses a localized content moderation system. There are also plans for localized data centers worldwide, subjecting to TikTok to more stringent data safety laws. In a telling sign of their apprehension in light of the Biden administration’s restrictions, company executives have resorted to lobbying in Washington in hopes of favorable legislation, an arduous task given that American opinion on China is at an all-time low.
The Biden administration must also consider the Chinese government’s response and the deteriorating relations between the two countries in recent years. Issues such as scapegoating over the COVID-19 pandemic and a stalemate over Taiwan have led to a strained relationship and a ban on Tiktok can further inflame tensions. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has denied the idea that TikTok poses a security risk, and the Ministry of Commerce opposes any plan for TikTok to be sold to an American company. Furthermore, Chinese media personalities have accused the United States of Sinophobia as it continues to target TikTok. This government opposition indicates that an outright ban or any other action may further aggravate an already aggressive China. However, some experts doubt China’s commitment to protecting the company. Though measures have been taken to prevent TikTok’s sale to an American company without government approval, an outright ban does not threaten China’s plans. In these uncertain times, China’s response remains unclear.
Opposition to the TikTok ban also exists domestically. Civil rights groups such as the ACLU are opposing the ban due to its potential violations of First Amendment rights. Fight for the Future, a nonprofit, believes that a singular ban unfairly singles out one app when the overall fight for data privacy should be more important. Some experts have echoed this sentiment, noting that while TikTok does collect user data, it is at a comparable level to American social media apps such as Facebook. The data is also imprecise and no different than the information that other companies sold to third-party companies. Currently, then, there is not enough danger to constitute a national security threat.
Chew testified in front of Congress for hours, emphasizing TikTok’s commitment to data protection, freedom of speech, and transparency. However, the bipartisan group of lawmakers that questioned him seemed unconvinced, making TikTok’s future in the United States uncertain. Yet Fight for the Future makes an important point that data privacy in general should be the priority. Perhaps instead of targeting TikTok, there can be better legislation that protects consumers overall.
