Primer: TikTok should be banned from US app stores

In our second debate of winter quarter, NU Political Union will consider the following question: Should TikTok be allowed on US app stores? 

TikTok, the wildly popular short-form video social network, is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Prominently, the company has come under fire in the wake of accusations, plus some proven cases, that it has spied on users, including, worryingly, journalists and US government workers. The link between TikTok and the Chinese government, critics say, poses a national security risk, as China has the power to force the company to share the data it collects on its users. Indeed, over the past several years, but especially in recent months, as its spying on American users has become more apparent, there have been numerous, increasing calls to ban the platform altogether. Most notably, at the end of 2022, Congress passed a bill prohibiting the use of TikTok on government-owned devices, which has made the central question now, seemingly, whether it will soon get banned for everyone.

Supporters of a ban on TikTok generally point to the noted privacy and national security concerns. Opponents, however, while often acknowledging these concerns, typically view a ban as infeasible or misguided. Frequently cited worries include the following. A ban may threaten free speech, other Chinese companies have equal access to American data, and Tik Tok has become perhaps too embedded in American society for a ban to be feasible or desirable. Ultimately, it seems one can argue this issue either way. 

To prepare you to weigh this highly topical, disputable matter, we have, as always, in this primer, compiled some outside sources that you may find helpful.   

• First, take a look at this article from the New York Times. It does a terrific job of explaining how things developed to a point where TikTok may, potentially, get banned. 

• Next, consider reading this piece in NPR, discussing why US intelligence agencies view TikTok as a national security threat, and this story in The Guardian about how Tik Tok admitted to spying on journalists to track down their sources. 

• Also, perhaps read this CNN article, contending that TikTok is maybe “too big to ban,” and this piece from the Foundation for Economic Education (FYI: A conservative/libertarian think tank), which argues that banning Tik Tok violates civil liberties.  

• Finally, this article in Foreign Policy provides a great explanation of how TikTok fits into the broader goals of China to expand its power and influence worldwide.

"TikTok" by Solen Feyissa is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.