STANDARDS

Common Core: RH.6-8.1, RH.6-8.2, RH.6-8.3, RH.6-8.4, RH.6-8.5, RH.6-8.7, WHST.6-8.1, WHST.6-8.4, WHST.6-8.9, RI.6-8.1, RI.6-8.2, RI.6-8.3, RI.6-8.4, RI.6-8.5, RI.6-8.6, RI.6-8.7, RI.6-8.8, RI.6-8.9, W.6-8.1, W.6-8.4, W.6-8.9, SL.6-8.1, SL.6-8.3

NCSS: Culture • Power, Authority, and Governance • Science, Technology, and Society • Global Connections • Civic Ideals and Practices

Illustration by Taylor Callery

Analyze This Image: Study the illustration. What do you notice? Consider that the bald eagle is the national bird of the United States, and that it is often used to symbolize the U.S. or its government. Now explain what message you think the artist is trying to convey in the illustration.

U.S. NEWS | CIVICS

The Battle Over TikTok

A new law could lead to a TikTok ban as soon as January. Here’s what you need to know.

Click here to take a Prereading Quiz before you read this article.

Question: What are some arguments in favor of a TikTok ban? What are some arguments against it?

You’re happily scrolling through your TikTok feed. As usual, it’s an entertaining mix of content. A clip of a hamster making a funny face is followed by one of a chef pouring hot sauce on ice cream. Yum? Then a video pops up of your friend nailing a 360-degree skateboard flip. “Epic!” you comment, adding a fire emoji.

Time flies when you’re on TikTok. But soon you may not be able to spend any time on the popular video app—at least not in the United States.

This past April, the U.S. government passed a law that will ban TikTok nationwide unless the app is sold to a buyer that the government approves of. If TikTok is not sold, the ban could take effect as early as January.

Why? TikTok is the country’s fastest-growing social media app, with 170 million American users. But it’s owned by a Chinese company, and some U.S. lawmakers fear the Chinese government could spy on Americans through TikTok—or use it to spread false information. Both, they say, would put the safety of the U.S. and its people at risk.

So far, TikTok isn’t backing down. TikTok and its owner—a tech company called ByteDance—have sued the U.S. government. They argue that banning TikTok violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. That amendment guarantees the right to free speech. 

Experts say the battle could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Will TikTok end up being deleted? 

What Is the First Amendment?

Added to the Constitution in 1791, this amendment protects five key freedoms. 

Religion: The government can’t create an official religion or stop people from practicing their own faith—or no faith.

Speech: The government can’t ban personal expression simply because it is controversial or unpopular. 

The Press: The government can’t control what newspapers or other news outlets report.

Assembly: People can publicly gather or protest for any cause, as long as they do it peacefully. 

Petition: The government has to let people voice their ideas and concerns, such as through letters or lawsuits.

The First Amendment does have limits, however. For example, the government can restrict speech that represents a clear and present danger—such as falsely shouting “Fire!” in a public place and causing a panic.

What TikTok Knows

TikTok’s mission is to “inspire creativity and bring joy.” The app connects 1 billion people around the world, giving them a way to share and view short videos. Scrolling through, you can explore everything from national news to the latest dance craze. 

But while you watch videos, TikTok collects your personal information. Like other social media apps, TikTok tracks what users search for, share, like, and much more. (If you’re under 13, tech companies can’t legally collect or share that information without your parent’s or guardian’s permission.) 

TikTok, Meta, and other tech companies use the data to improve their products. For instance, it helps them suggest content you’ll like. But these companies also sell the personal information they collect. Outside businesses want it for their own reasons, such as to create personalized ads. Did you ever look at jeans online and then see ads for those jeans for months afterward? Now you know why.

What sets TikTok apart from other social media apps is its connection to China. China is run by the Chinese Communist Party. In a Communist system, the government controls many parts of people’s lives. It severely limits their personal freedoms and owns most land and businesses. As a result, Chinese officials can demand access to the data of any person or company based in China. That means ByteDance might have to show the Chinese government your private messages, who your friends and family are, and even your location at any moment.

Many U.S. lawmakers say it is important to keep Americans’ data out of the Chinese government’s hands. That’s because the U.S. and China have a complicated history (see “The U.S. and China: Past and Present,” below). Having access to detailed information about 170 million Americans could be a powerful weapon for China, some lawmakers argue.

It might sound like a Hollywood thriller, but Chinese espionage is real, says James Lewis. He is an expert on cybersecurity at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. 

“China uses its technology to spy on people,” says Lewis. “And you might say, ‘I’m only a kid, why would they spy on me?’ We don’t know, but they do.”

Craig Hudson/Reuters

TikTok users rally in support of the app this past March in Washington, D.C.

Government Fears

Many U.S. lawmakers say China could also use TikTok to spread propaganda—information that is circulated to try to make people think a certain way. It could promote false statements or highlight certain stories over others. Before a U.S. election, for example, TikTok could flood users’ feeds with positive videos about a candidate who has pro-China policies. 

Cybersecurity experts point to the 2016 U.S. presidential election as an example. Before people voted, a political company took private data from 50 million Facebook users without their permission. It used details about their friend networks, “likes,” and political views to create personalized ads. The company’s goal was to influence how those Facebook users would vote.

Such security fears have already led the U.S.—as well as Australia, Canada, and several European countries—to ban TikTok from government employees’ work phones and computers. More than 30 U.S. state governments have done the same.

The potential ban passed in April would apply to the devices of all Americans. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers say it will help protect the United States. U.S. Senator Mark Warner is a Democrat from Virginia. He says Congress has received top-secret information about China’s ability to use TikTok against the U.S. (The details have not been made public.)

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio is a Republican from Florida. He agrees the app is dangerous. “We are united in our concern about the national security threat posed by TikTok—a platform with enormous power to influence and divide Americans,” he said this past March, in a joint statement with Warner. 

Before Congress passed the TikTok bill, several lawmakers said they hoped the app would survive for Americans to enjoy—but only with a new owner. The new owner doesn’t need to be a U.S. company, Warner explained. But it does need to be from a country that is on good terms with the U.S. “I want to make clear to all Americans, this is not an effort to take your voice away,” Warner said.

By the Numbers

Americans on TikTok

How could this data be used to support—or argue against—a TikTok ban? 

63%: Share of teens ages 13 to 17 who use TikTok
 

17%: Share of teens who report using TikTok nonstop

Growth

Percentage of U.S. adults who use TikTok 

Year: 2021
Percentage: 21%

Year: 2023
Percentage: 33%

News 

Percentage of U.S. adults who regularly get news from TikTok

Ages: 18-29
Year: 2021
Percentage: 18%
Year: 2023
Percentage: 32%

Ages 30-49
Year: 2021
Percentage: 6%
Year: 2023:
Percentage:15%

Ages 50-64
Year: 2021
Percentage: 3%
Year: 2023
Percentage: 7%

TikTok vs. Other Apps

The top five social media platforms, by percentage of U.S. adult users

Shutterstock.com

YouTube: 83%

Facebook: 68%

Instagram: 47%

Pinterest: 35%

TikTok: 33%

SOURCE: Pew Research Center

TikTok officials, meanwhile, say they would never turn over Americans’ personal details to China. Right now, TikTok is in the process of moving its U.S. data to servers owned and operated by a Texas-based company. That will put the information out of China’s reach, says Shou Zi Chew, TikTok’s chief executive officer.  

“The bottom line is this: American data stored on American soil, by an American company, overseen by American personnel,” Chew told Congress last year. 

In addition, TikTok and ByteDance argue that the new law goes against the Constitution because it limits Americans’ right to express themselves. Kate Ruane agrees. She is the director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology in Washington, D.C. Banning people from using TikTok takes away their right to freely speak on the app, she says.

“Congress wants to censor TikTok, and as a result, they are fine [with] censoring the people in the United States that use it to create or to support their businesses or get their news,” says Ruane.

TikTok and ByteDance say the law also puts other companies at risk. If Congress can do this to TikTok, their lawsuit states, U.S. lawmakers could force any company to be sold simply by calling it a security risk.

Plus, TikTok supporters point out, the U.S. has long championed free expression for everyone. It has spoken out against countries like China for censoring online content. If the U.S. bans TikTok, other countries might follow its lead and ban U.S.-owned apps that support free speech, like Snapchat or Instagram. 

That could be dangerous, Ruane warns. Social media is an important outlet for exchanging information and ideas, she says. This can be especially true in countries where people have limited freedoms.

So Long, TikTok?

What happens next? The legal battle is expected to last months, but some experts say TikTok has an advantage. TikTok has successfully challenged earlier efforts to ban it. Last year, for example, a federal judge temporarily blocked a TikTok ban passed by Montana lawmakers. The judge said the ban likely violated the First Amendment. (The case was on hold when this issue went to press.)

If TikTok loses in court, would the app be sold? ByteDance executives say no. Plus, the Chinese government has said it wouldn’t approve a sale. 

Even if the ban is upheld, TikTok won’t immediately disappear from your device in January. But American app stores would not be allowed to offer it. Updates and tech fixes wouldn’t get through. Eventually, the app would stop working.

Would saying goodbye to TikTok make us more secure? Many privacy experts say no. They point out that other social media networks sell our details. China could likely buy Americans’ data if it wanted to.

That’s why Congress is considering a federal privacy law that would protect all of our digital data. It would limit the information that companies can collect. It would also require companies to tell us where that information goes. 

Ruane is among those who support such a law. “If we approach it that way,” she says, “we would protect everybody’s data on every app.” And we could still watch all those cute hamster videos. 

How to Protect Your Privacy

What Apps Do: Ask for your name, email, and phone number
What You Can Do: Don’t use your full name. Consider setting up a separate email account solely for social media. Don’t give apps your phone number unless you’re using it to add an extra layer of security for logging in.

What Apps Do: Ask you to share your contacts 
What You Can Do: Just say no. When you share your contacts, you’re sharing their information too. Block access in your privacy settings. 

What Apps Do: Tell you to sign on with another account, like Apple 
What You Can Do: Create a login specific to each app so the apps can’t access private information in your other accounts. This also helps keep your other accounts safe if someone guesses your password. 

YOUR TURN

Make Your Voice Heard

Should TikTok be banned in the United States? Underline or highlight two reasons supporting your opinion. Then exercise your First Amendment rights—by weighing in! Write a persuasive letter to a member of Congress explaining your point of view. Use evidence from the article and additional research to support your reasoning. 

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