Optimism on a TikTok prohibition

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*Courtesy of Wikimedia Creative Commons via Solen Feyissa*

Two weeks ago, the House of Representatives came to a vote on a bill seeking to force the Chinese-owned tech giant ByteDance to sell TikTok to American shareholders at the risk of facing a complete ban in the United States. The name of the bill seems to say it all: The “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” citing the app’s potential danger to American national security and influence on the American youth. With a bipartisan vote of 352 to 65, it is clear that the House has a supermajority negative view on TikTok, though this opinion does have its retractors.

There is, of course, a philosophical argument to be made. Prohibitions, in our modern age, are often frowned upon. In the past few decades, especially among our youth, a more libertarian approach to certain subjects has become more popular, with even certain taboo subjects becoming acceptable. The government’s approach to restricting substances, reproductive rights, software, and certain websites are all prime examples of how the government has become disconnected from the average young American, as they have grown and seen the rules and laws of the past as outdated.

As the biggest game changer in American culture since Mountain Dew Baja Blast, TikTok’s banishment will certainly be met with backlash. An estimated 102 million Americans are monthly active users on TikTok. With everything from advertisements for businesses to in-class school projects incorporating the platform as a means of publicity and projection, TikTok spokespeople are warning that the U.S. government’s current actions are jeopardizing a large segment of the economy which relies on TikTok. Of course, one must ask: What does TikTok do that cannot be replicated on another platform?

The answer, unfortunately for TikTok, is nothing. The formula for swiping through a seemingly infinite amount of videos is nothing special, and since TikTok established this formula, other platforms have followed suit: YouTube released Shorts, Snapchat has Spotlight, and Instagram has Reels. All of these may not be as popular as TikTok, but they can and will provide the mindless doom-scrolling the people yearn for if TikTok gets the guillotine.

The question of whether or not TikTok is a danger to national security should also get our attention. Since 2017, all major Chinese tech companies must submit their collected user data to Chinese Communist Party officials. Given that TikTok requests an abnormally large amount of access to your personal information in its Terms & Services, it raises alarms to people who are concerned about adversarial espionage.

There is a 1999 Chinese military strategy book when literally translated called “Warfare Beyond Bounds” which explores how political and economic warfare can be used to defeat a technologically superior country. Within the book, Xi Jinping says, “[t]he battle for mind control happens on a smokeless battlefield… Whoever controls this battlefield can win hearts.” The potential Trojan Horse of TikTok was considered too much of a security risk for the government in 2023 — so much so that they restricted a number of government officials from being able to use the site.

It is safe to say that TikTok has already had a lasting impact on the American mind, with its overstimulating algorithm and ability to lower attention spans with brain rot. Perhaps going on a break from its addictive formula will finally give our minds the nourishment they need.