Don't tik away free speech

TikTok is as much of a threat to the average user as a papercut. 

In the aftermath of the recent US Supreme Court decision to support the TikTok ban, many are questioning the rationale behind it. Although TikTok has, ironically, already returned to the public square, the supposed problem has not been addressed. The fact that the US government was willing to ruin the lives of millions of small businesses and creators over false narratives warped by Congress reveals a much bigger issue in US politics.

One narrative used to justify the ban is that TikTok poses a “national security threat.” The argument is that the Chinese-owned app collects personal information from US citizens. However, legal experts not affiliated with the US government have debunked claims about the types of information TikTok can access. They have found that it can access only very basic information from users, such as names, email addresses, and sometimes locations. Thus, the “threat” is exaggerated and propagated by the US government to push its agenda. 

So, if access to personal data isn’t the true concern, what is the real reason that the app is banned? 

FBI director Christopher Wray stated in direct reference to TikTok: “The FBI is very focused on the threat of disinformation, especially from foreign adversaries trying to use social media as a tool to influence our democracy, influence our elections, and sow discord.” This may sound like a reasonable concern, but the US government has no authority to restrict online activity to reduce the sway of politics. This is censorship! It is simply an excuse to consolidate more wealth in the hands of the wealthy, powerful American billionaire CEOs of other social media companies by forcing the partial sale of TikTok to American investors..

The idea that TikTok is a useless app is another narrative propagated by politicians. The fact is that TikTok allows businesses and creators to build their own platforms and thrive. With over 170 million monthly users in the US alone, the app creates the perfect opportunity for small businesses to advertise and sell their products. A study from Oxford Economics estimated that the 7 million American small businesses on TikTok generated 15 billion dollars of revenue and contributed more than 24 billion dollars to the US GDP in 2023 alone. The proposed ban would hurt millions of people by putting their livelihoods in jeopardy.

In addition to the clear negative impacts that banning TikTok will have on millions of people and businesses, TikTok is also a sentimental app for millions of teenagers. Psychologists, parents, and teachers have said that social media is bad for teenagers and has various negative impacts eclipsing the pleasure from scrolling through mindless videos. What they don’t seem to understand is that social media contains our diaries, connections, and an escape from the dystopian world we are now living in. We are able to escape the idiocracy that is US politics, the pressure that is school and grades, and the fatigue that comes with being a teenager in the 21st century. Through sharing a few laughs or edits or encouraging videos, TikTok has become more than just an app to us.

This unprecedented act of censorship puts in jeopardy the freedoms we were promised at the founding of the country. And with the Soviet-adjacent political atmosphere our country is approaching, freedom seems farther from reach than ever.