TikTok is once again facing another ban scare. US officials once again think that this social media platform is trying to steal their citizen’s information.

Although TikTok may seem like it takes information I believe they want to be rid of it because it is not a US-owned company. Things like Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube are all American-owned. 

In previous years they have come close to passing a bill but this is the year that the House finally succeeded in passing a bill. Now it is up to the Senate on what will happen.

Banning TikTok would cause more harm than good in multiple ways. It would end the income of millions of people who rely on TikTok to pay for their expenses. It would mean the end of a record-breaking app that has culturally changed the world.

TikTok allows people to connect and interact with others from across the world.

Not only would the ban harm influencers but it would also harm brand title companies and harm the marketing for hundreds of companies.

While I use TikTok for entertainment purposes, many others use it as a way to use their voice and bring about change. 

This ban would hinder and damage the US economy in ways that the economy may not recover. These US officials don’t understand that once an app of this magnitude becomes popular, removing it would harm everyone involved financially, culturally, and demographically. 

After being passed by the House and now facing the Senate it will be the Senate that makes the next big choice. Whether or not they should ban it.

The House argued that TikTok poses a national security threat and that the Chinese government could force DataByte (TikTok’s parent company) to hand over data of US users. If the bill is passed it will stop TikTok from being in US app stores unless the app is bought by a company other than DataByte.

I believe that while TikTok is Chinese-owned, it will never be used to gain data about Americans that other companies don’t already have. And that’s the problem with this bill. It is a violation of the First Amendment to stop Americans from using this app especially when every other app that they use is not facing the same threat.

It all comes back to one thing. Politicians don’t like that one of the biggest social media platforms being used by their citizens is not made by the country they reside in and therefore they have no control over the app. All the US politicians want is control over their citizens even if that means violating their First Amendment rights.