For the past few years, TikTok has been questioned by the US and many other countries’ governments. Recently, the US has been facing challenges as it wants China to either sell the app to them or ban it completely.
The Banning of TikTok
According to the US, the app is a threat for the national security of the country. The lawmakers have been questioning this for many years. Hence, last year, Congress decided to take action on it. They wanted Bytedance, Tiktok’s parent company in China to sell the app to the Us or cut off from the US market. Several other governments did the same. They received the deadline till January.
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Did They Sell the App?
No, they did not sell the app. However, now when the deadline is here, they failed to make a decision. On Friday, the Supreme Court gave the statement that the law does not violate the First Amendment. However, Biden is soon to leave the white house and Trump is all ready to settle in. Trump’s government does not want TikTok to be banned in the USA. Furthermore, TikTok is supposed to go dark by 19 January. The Biden government has not given any specific declaration that ensures non-enforcement of one of the most used apps in the state.
Why did They Reach this Stage?
The US has always been cautious about TikTok. They think that they would use the information to spy on the US government. They have constantly tried to ban the app or buy it to be on the safer side. They also claim that being worried is justified since the Chinese government mainly mandates that organizations collaborate with intelligence gathering. The FBI director of Congress Christopher Wray informed the House Intelligence Committee last year that the Chinese government could easily break into the phones of the people who use their app.
Politicians Reaction to It
In April 2024, the case was registered against TikTok. Moreover, politicians supported the motion and made very bold remarks about it. Rep. Michael McCaul called the app a spy balloon on Americans’ phones. Furthermore, Chris Coons said that many data are being taken by the Chinese government through the phones and are being used in a manner which would not align with USA’s policies.
Other politicians also claimed that tiktok could even get your location and invade your privacy by reading your text messages. It has complete access to your phone which you would not like either. Moreover, if the Chinese government finds out your details, it is not just a national threat but also a personal threat.
Did TikTok Take any Stand?
Indeed they took a stand. They made an effort to lesser the fear in the lawmakers eyes. They launched a project called ‘Project Texas’ which would safeguard the us citizens privacy and data. However, the US government was still not satisfied with it because some of the information was still received by China.
Furthermore, many politicians took a stand for Tik Tok by saying that no evidence has ever been found and the accusations are based on their assumptions.
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Supreme Court Hearing
The lawyer representing the US claimed that tiktok has been consuming a lot of data by the citizens of the US. They are very much concerned about the privacy of billions of teenagers, older people who love to spend time on tik tok. They are also worried that China could easily use this information to make spies or blackmail people. Nonetheless, the lawyer representing tik tok implied that the way the US government chose to take action was not right.
The Decision of the Supreme Court
The justice department gave two national security threats which were stopping China from gathering information from the billions of people that use Tiktok. The second one was that it could show the content which they wanted the US citizens to see. However, the decision was based on the first national threat. It did not violate any amendment and claimed that congress had good reasons to cut off tik tok.
Conclusion
TikTok is getting banned because US officials are scared that it might take their information and use it against them. However, just because the US is assuming without any proof, it is not ideal for them.
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FAQ
1. Why is TikTok facing a potential ban in the U.S.?
The U.S. government views TikTok as a national security threat, fearing the Chinese government could access user data collected by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
2. What is Byte Dance’s role in the controversy?
Byte Dance, TikTok’s parent company based in China, is under scrutiny because Chinese laws could potentially require the company to share user data with the Chinese government.
3. Did ByteDance sell TikTok to a U.S. company?
No, ByteDance has not sold TikTok, despite U.S. demands for the app to either be sold to a U.S.-based company or be banned entirely.
