Is a Ban on TikTok the Right Move? - JOST

By: Justin Fowler

With over 2 billion downloads, TikTok has taken the United States by storm. TikTok, a social media platform that has users posting and watching short videos, has been the platform of choice for many during the Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19).

Due to TikTok’s rise in popularity, the United States government led by the Trump administration targeted the app stating that a ban may be necessary. The reason for the potential ban, according to the Trump administration, was a growing concern that the Chinese government could gain access to United States user data.

Is this a legitimate concern? And if so, is a ban of the app appropriate? Experts say, “the reality of TikTok’s threat is far more mundane and not particularly unique.” Although users should be skeptical of how the app collects and handles data, the increasing concern stems from the fact that TikTok is a China-based app (owned by ByteDance).

Whitney Merrill, a former lawyer of the Federal Trade Commission, believes that “China could buy similar mobile data from data brokers or ad networks. Most ad networks are collecting the same, if not worse, information.” In 2018, Facebook confirmed that it has data-sharing partnerships with Chinese companies. And Facebook collects a LOT of data. Perhaps even more concerning, even if Facebook’s most aggressive initiates to collecting data are shutdown, countless software companies are willing to sell their users’ data to Facebook. So, what is to say that this would not be the case for TikTok?

Overall there does seem to be a privacy concern regarding TikTok, but not any more so than with any other phone app. So is a ban on TikTok the proper response? President Donald Trump certainly believes so. In his executive order, Trump posited that the TikTok app threatened “national security, foreign policy, and [the] economy of the United States.”

In response to Trump’s ban, TikTok has sued the administration. United States District Court Judge Carl Nichols stated that it is likely the Trump administration overstepped its legal authority with its TikTok ban. Proponents of the President’s ban argue that TikTok’s actions rightly lead to a ban in fear of spreading inflammatory and dangerous propaganda. It is interesting to note that proponents of the ban cited Facebook and Twitter as other applications that spread inflammatory and dangerous propaganda but did not recommend a ban on either of those apps.

Although it is uncertain what will happen, a ban could have some unfavorable consequences. A ban would likely increase distrust among countries and companies. Retaliation could ensue with other countries banning United States companies, leading to a back and forth of censorship.

As the presidential election approaches for the United States, only time will tell what may happen. A change in leadership could lead to the dismissal of the ban on TikTok. It could also lead to a shift in stance on the ongoing ban and tension between the United States and China.

[1] Fowler, Geoffrey A. Is It Time to Delete TikTok? A Guide to the Rumors and the Real Privacy Risks, The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/07/13/tiktok-privacy/(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.

[1] Wong, Queenie, Hautala Laura, Morse, Andrew. The TikTok Saga: Everything You Need to Know, CNET, https://www.cnet.com/news/the-tiktok-saga-everything-you-need-to-know/(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.

[1] Collier, Kevin. TikTok a Privacy Threat? Sure, But So Are Most of Your Smartphone Apps, NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/tiktok-privacy-threat-sure-so-are-most-your-smartphone-apps-n1233625(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.

[1] Id.

[1] Michael LaForgia & Gabriel J.X. Dance. Facebook Gave Data Access to Chinese Firm Flagged by US Intelligence, The New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/technology/facebook-device-partnerships-china.html(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Feldman, Brian. Even if Facebook Stops Aggressively Collecting Data, Developers Will Still Supply It, Intelligencer, New York Magazine, https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/02/why-facebooks-data-collection-practice-is-so-messy.html(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.

[1] Chan, Julia. Top Apps Worldwide for August 2020 by Downloads, Sensor Tower Blog, Sensor Tower, https://sensortower.com/blog/top-apps-worldwide-august-2020-by-downloads(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Feng, Zhaoyin. TikTok Threatens Legal Action Against Trump, BBC News, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53660860(last viewed October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.

[1] Crichton, Danny. TikTok Files for Injunction Against Pending Trump App Ban, Tech Crunch, https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/23/tiktok-files-for-injunction-against-pending-trump-app-ban/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAELDh_fuoXeyeR2hvqI5Eoev4-(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Lima, Cristiano. Trump’s TikTok Restrictions ‘Likely Exceed’ His Legal Authority, Federal Judge Says, Politico, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/28/trump-tiktok-legal-authority-422663(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Can We Legally Ban TikTok?, Lawyer Monthly, https://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2020/09/can-we-legally-ban-tiktok/(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.

[1] Keman Huang & Stuart Madnick. The TikTok Ban Should Worry Every Company, Harvard Business Review, https://hbr.org/2020/08/the-tiktok-ban-should-worry-every-company(last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.

[1] Id.

[1] Robertson, Adi. The Big Legal Questions Behind Trump’s TikTok and WeChat Bans, The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/10/21358505/trump-tiktok-wechat-tencent-bytedance-china-ban-executive-order-legal-sanctions-rules (last visited October 16, 2020).

[1] Id.