On March 13, 2024, a ban was put into effect against the ruling company of TikTok, ByteDance, a Chinese business. This ban ordered ByteDance to sell the site within a reasonable amount of time or they would be blocked from using U.S. stores and sites. Not only did the ban affect that company, but it also affected Apple and Google, forcing them to take TikTok off of their service options, which will ultimately decrease their business.
This ban was put into effect because of the suspicions that TikTok accesses and uses its users’ data. The U.S. government was primarily concerned about this Chinese app having access to spy on and use the information from users to make their profit.
There is much discussion online about whether this is constitutional or not, as well as if this is going to be beneficial or not. Firstly, this is not constitutional, by any means. According to the lawyer representing Tiktok, this ban violates the constitution in many ways, including the first amendment right of free speech. TikTok is a highly popular online app that is known for giving users the ability to share their thoughts and ideas with the world.
According to the First Amendment, citizens of the United States have freedom of speech and press. TikTok is an app that does just that, it allows people to speak freely and share their thoughts with the world. If the government were to take away this freedom of speech and press that aligns with the use of this app, that would be reasonable grounds for a large lawsuit on the basis of violating constitutional rights, that is if they win the case..
TikTok is also an app that has allowed businesses to develop. TikTok claims that it not only has 170 million users in America, but also claims five million businesses have used it to promote their products and services.
All in all, this ban may have a large impact on the population, not only in the U.S. but for users all over the world. In some respects, there is an understanding of why there are concerns for privacy, however, there is more benefit to this app than not.
TikTok should stay up for the benefits that do consistently impact users. The businesses that have flourished because of the amount of recognition they get from Tiktok likely would not have done it without this app. People have had the opportunity to connect with people from all over the world they would never usually be able to connect with. This is a resource that people use and enjoy on a daily basis so it would not be fair to take it away.
