Tech companies gather an insane amount of data, whether you realize it or not! Governments want that information for law enforcement, espionage, and surveillance; so, the governments hack, buy, and steal it. Due to this, the U.S. has had an edge over other countries! The U.S. went to court and won which made social media giant’s, that are based in the U.S, hand over user information. Tik Tok is owned by a Chinese company, meaning the U.S. has no control over what the data is used for. Although users did accept the companies terms of use they didn’t accept for their data to be used for government purposes. Since the U.S. government has no control they worry about what the data is being used for, it might be used for spying on U.S. citizens. Another reason why the U.S. is worried is because Tik Tok’s algorithm can be used to influence actions and international issues. China has authoritarian control so they have full control over social media companies and their data. Due to this, U.S. officials are giving Tik Tok two choices: sell ownership of the company or risk U.S. nationwide ban. Many other countries have also taken action; Britain, Canada, Belgium, and the U.S. have all banned Tik Tok on government devices and networks. India has banned Tik Tok entirely, and a lot of other countries have tried. Trump tried to ban Tik Tok in 2020 but the judges said no. Even if the U.S. did ban Tik Tok it is unclear how they would prevent U.S. citizens from using it. One approach to the ban would be to remove the app from Apple and Google stores, and make the app non-functional on U.S. networks. But they wouldn’t be able to delete the app if it is already installed. The ban might not even happen, the government might just threaten with a ban but not actually put one in place! 

Cites

www.newyorktimes.com 

https://www.edigitalagency.com.au/logos/new-tiktok-logo-png/