Let the United States have TikTok

When the ban is so easily circumvented, and probably will be overturned anyway, what's the point?

Taylor Millicent
By Taylor Millicent January 15, 2025

Saving might be Donald Trump’s only redeeming act. 

Writing that line makes me shudder a little – I’m no fan of the President-elect. But I’m sure he cares little about my opinion of him.

The United States is staring down the barrel of a TikTok ban. It’s supposed to come into effect on Jan 19. The ban was put in place because of concerns regarding Tik Tok’s parent company, -based ByteDance. The app is known for taking a large amount of data from users, including personal information, biometric data and keystroke patterns, with no real knowledge of how this data is being used or stored.

Is this so different from any other platform? You might say that’s not the point. This is a matter of national security, or so the US would say. But they’re certainly not in a rush to ban Meta-owned platforms despite similar concerns around privacy and data. 

You may have guessed, but I’m a fan of TikTok. I enjoy sitting down and scrolling aimlessly through the app with an algorithm so in tune with my inner thoughts it’s showing me content I need before I know I need it. Unlike probably many other users, I’m acutely aware of the discussion around Chinese ownership of the platform. But to be completely honest, I don’t really care. 

In the age of social media, any platform you use mines data from the information you give it. You can choose not to use social media. But suddenly you’re hindered in work opportunities, missing out on social connectivity and missing key points in news, content and culture. 

So I’m all for letting TikTok stay. And the US Government is silly to think that a blanket ban on one platform solves the problem they’re trying to fix. 

TikTok users are already looking to different platforms to migrate to, with Lemon8 and REDnote at the top of the list. And who do you think owns those? Yep, Chinese-owned companies. You know what they say – cut the head off the snake and two more grow back. Lemon8 is also owned by ByteDance, leading to questions about whether it will also be banned under the legislation (technically it should be). 

All of this to say: let the US keep TikTok under ByteDance. There are ways to regulate concerns around data and privacy that aren’t blanket bans. But let people keep their platform to post silly dances, share reviews about awful books and find their communities in a corner of the internet.

It’s pretty easy to predict Donald will likely overturn the ban, given he’s already asked the Supreme Court to suspend the law from coming into effect on Jan 19. 

If he doesn’t, the US will move onto another Chinese-owned platform. And we’ll inevitably be having this discussion again in the next few years. 

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