Written by: Joseph Maffettone
Earlier this year, the United States officially passed a bill that would ban the popular social media site, TikTok, if the company that owns it, ByteDance, refuses to sell it before next year. When the news broke out about the bill that would ban the app was signed by President Joe Biden, the reaction to the announcement was mixed. There were people who believed banning the popular social media site/app would help remove the supposed data tracking the app had and help with protecting privacy while others complained that it would remove a major form of entertainment for them, including there only form of marketing and business. I spoke with my cousin, Alexandrea Mulqueen, who uses the app constantly and built her own community, about her thoughts on the recent discussion of banning TikTok and how it might affect users.
I first asked Alexandrea questions about the government ban, she said this first, “I understand why the government wants to ban TikTok as they are trying to protect our personal information, however, I’m hoping that TikTok will be bought out by an American company so I can continue to enjoy posting and watching entertaining videos.” Another thing about the government decision Alexandrea told me was, “I think the TikTok ban would not effectively address the governments concerns because I feel that other countries would find other platforms or venues to access our personal information.” Finally, Alexandrea told me the ban would affect her and if there were any other alternatives to go to. She said, “If TikTok gets banned, my day-to-day life would change since I wouldn’t be spending as much of my time on the app. I would most likely turn towards Instagram considering they have reels which is similar to the content on TikTok.” Alexandrea thinks that the ban would definitely affect her but is already planning ahead on moving to Instagram, if the ban ends up happening.
I asked Alexandra some questions about how the ban would affect people who use the app not only regularly, but for those who use it as a form of job and marketing. I first asked how it would affect people who use it for a job, she said this, “I believe that these creators will struggle since TikTok is their main platform for their source of income. But since they already have a big following, it should be pretty easy for them to transition to another app considering people will most likely want to still watch their content.” I then asked Alexandra a question about how the ban would affect people who market and showcase their businesses on the app. She said, “The TikTok ban will most likely have a huge impact on the businesses that rely on TikTok for marketing. It’s going to be really difficult to promote their products if the app doesn’t exist anymore.” Finally, the last question I asked was about how it would affect users of different cultures and demographics. She said, “The TikTok ban will influence trends and culture because all demographic groups have TikTok, and all groups will be affected.” Overall, Alexendra believes that the ban will have a bigger impact on businesses, influencers, and many of demographic groups who use the app to promote their products, businesses, the income and sponsorships they receive from doing TikTok as a full-time job.
Now, I personally feel mixed about the banning of TikTok as I think there is a good reason to banning TikTok while there also a reason why I think banning the app would affect many others in a bad way. First, I think the reason why the government decided to ban TikTok and is forcing the company that owns it, ByteDance, to sell it is understandable, but I feel like there should be some form of evidence to prove the reasoning to making the company sell TikTok in general. The reason the government is trying to ban TikTok is because of privacy reasons. The government is trying to ban TikTok because the app tracks personal data. Personally, unless there is actual proof that TikTok is actually tracking personal data from users who have the app or use it, I can’t really believe it and it just ends up sounding like the government is either prevent certain things from being said on the app like criticism towards how they operate like hate campaigns, or they just want full control of the app from a foreign country. Personally, I think banning the app does have a benefit, and that benefit the amount of screentime and what shouldn’t be seen by an audience of a younger demographic. Imagine having a child exposed to some stuff like graphic content that isn’t censored or stuff like horror content that would have them up at night, TikTok would have a recommend feed for every demographic, but if one search happens or one like of a specific topic is brought up, it could change how that kids feed looks like. That is my concern with TikTok, the feed that a younger demographic is looking at.
But I have also my criticisms with the ban as well, but more on people using it as a job. I could see businesses and demographic groups moving away and heading towards other social media apps and sites like Facebook or businesses and Instagram for the entertainment value of the reels, but content creators might be a difficult case. The issue is a small creator might have trouble bouncing back up instead of a big creator. This feels like a small creator on YouTube who loses everything because YouTube gets banned or shuts down. A big creator can move to Instagram or any other sites and still be big can someone smaller would have to start from square one all over again. That my issue with the ban, someone who uses TikTok as a job and is a small-time creator loses everything because of the TikTok ban.
Personally, I think now is a good time to start planning ahead and start making content for other sites just in case this ban ends up happening. I don’t really know what is going on with the government, but I don’t think they will stop this and will proceed with banning TikTok in general. I think ByteDance should not fight back like they are doing and actually sell TikTok before next year rolls around. Until then, this will just be an ongoing discussion about the whole government drama with TikTok.