Could you imagine your life without TikTok? Many Americans are questioning whether or not the popular social media app TikTok will actually be banned and removed from the App Store and Google Play Store. The attempt to ban TikTok has happened many times throughout the app’s existence starting in 2019. Why are Americans taking this ban attempt more seriously, and how will it affect the lives of the millions of Americans who use the app? Will TikTok be purchased by someone who is willing to save the platform? Will the ban end up getting pushed back? What apps will Americans use instead of TikTok if the ban actually does take place? Many questions are up in the air about whether the TikTok ban will actually take place or not considering the app’s history of ban threats.
On January 19, TikTok was threatened to be banned from being downloaded onto devices in the United States if TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, still has control over the platform. The United States sees TikTok as a way for China to collect American citizens’ data. Former President Joe Biden signed a law that passed in Congress last April with bipartisan approval, the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, to protect Americans from their data and information being stolen because China is a country that is considered to be a threat to United States’ national security. The only way for the TikTok ban to be completely lifted is if ByteDance sells TikTok to another company or individual.
According to Inc.com, it is speculated that Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and Project Liberty founder Frank McCourt submitted a formal offer to buy TikTok without its algorithm in hopes to, “Make TikTok wonderful again.” Kevin O’Leary hopes to rebuild TikTok in a way that protects the data and information of its 170 million American users. Kevin O’Leary wants to work with Frank McCourt because of his experience working on algorithms and hopes to re-do the TikTok algorithm to eliminate any potential Chinese spyware, as stated by the New York Post. Famous YouTuber Mr. Beast, SpaceX and Tesla, Inc. owner Elon Musk, and Microsoft are other people/corporations who have voiced their interest in purchasing TikTok from ByteDance to enable its usage for the American population. If ByteDance does sell TikTok, how will TikTok change by being in the hands of another company?
In the case that TikTok does not get sold from ByteDance, what would that look like for almost half the U.S. population that is on TikTok? It is most likely that Americans will begin to spend more of their screen time on other popular social media apps like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Snapchat. Many alternative apps have also been made in hopes of replacing TikTok if it does get banned, with the most popular replacements being Lemon8 and RedNote. One problem with RedNote is that it is also a Chinese-owned and operated company, which can cause the same problem that TikTok is causing if it rapidly grows in popularity amongst American consumers.
The TikTok ban is also spreading a large amount of controversy because some believe that the act of the government banning TikTok jeopardizes the First Amendment and the right to free speech since the U.S. government has no solid or factual proof that China is stealing Americans’ data. Many Americans believe that TikTok is a unique social media platform that enables them to express themselves and be able to get their voices heard. With the removal of TikTok, it causes conflict amongst Americans feeling that the government is taking away their right to voice themselves on TikTok. According to six legal scholars surveyed by NPR, forcing TikTok to shut down in the United States without proper evidence of the app serving to be a national security threat would violate the right to the First Amendment.
The students at Lake Highland are concerned about the TikTok ban and how it will affect their lives, since they spend most of their time on their phones watching TikTok all day. On the bright side, some students agree that the TikTok ban will help them with their phone addiction and allow them to spend less time on their phones and more time doing productive activities. Savannah Fondo, grade 11, talks about how she might spend her time without TikTok: “My life without TikTok would be a lot more productive as I would be spending a lot less time on my phone and would be doing other activities instead.” Savannah also believes that TikTok’s ban will end up getting pushed back to a later date, but she does believe that the government is taking this ban more seriously than before.
Noa León, grade 11, also agrees that she will be spending less time on her phone and says, “I think my life would actually look a lot better, even if I hate to admit it. I would do my work straight away. I would interact more with people and just be more human.” Noa also voices her opinion about the new apps coming out to replace TikTok and thinks that, “The apps are just ways that people are trying to make money, but none of them will succeed.” Janiya Warrell, grade 11, says, “I would say I’m addicted to TikTok.” She feels as if TikTok takes up a lot of her time. While she enjoys spending time on the app, if it does get banned, she says she will switch from watching short videos on TikTok to going on Instagram Reels instead. She added, “I will miss TikTok because it was such a big part of my life.”
In total, the students at Lake Highland will definitely miss TikTok, but some positive things could result in the ban. People might be glued to their phones less and spend more time doing things that they love. Jenn Liow once said, “Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day, its how you choose to use them.”
