Will there be an Official Ban of TikTok?
President Trump’s Recent Actions Leaves Tik Tokers Weary
This photo is courtesy of adweek.com
After months of discussions and a signed executive order, President Donald Trump moved forward in action to ban the social media apps, TikTok and WeChat. Both apps will be removed from American app stores such as Google Play and Apple App Store by Sunday, September 20.
The Trump Administration cites its motive as acting in accordance with its technological national security conflict against China. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has access to user data through TikTok’s terms of service. Commerce Secretary, Wilbur Ross said in a statement, “At the President’s direction, we have taken significant action to combat China’s malicious collection of American citizens’ personal data while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations”. The amount of data that TikTok collects is consistent with apps like Facebook and Google.
Nevertheless, ByteDance has until November 12th to devise a plan that will convince the U.S. government of the security of TikTok. ByteDance has teamed up with Oracle, an American cloud-based data company, and Walmart to form a new stateside company called TikTok Global. Oracle will oversee the data collection to soothe the government’s worries. No new patches or updates can be made for U.S. consumers of TikTok until Trump agrees to ByteDance and Oracle’s proposal. As of now, President Trump has approved the deal “in concept”. What’s left is the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a committee that surveys business transactions between the US and other countries, and formal finalization of Oracle’s and Walmart’s deal with ByteDance.
TikTok has grown exponentially in popularity with the Gen Z crowd over the past 2 years. Students of Marymount have definitely embraced the app as a space for their creativity. Here’s what the MMC community had to say of the breaking news Friday:
I think the ban is used in favor of Trump’s political gain. TikTok arguably has been a huge platform for minority voices to be heard and used to show things that the media doesn’t. Besides the comedy, skits, dances, etc, there is a huge political movement that has created youth engagement in real-world issues. In my opinion, Trump wants to use his power to silence or censor the youth for the upcoming election. However of course, from the outside, it looks like a move to “protect Americans’ information from China. — Ryan Crouse
“So my thoughts are that nothing is really gonna change, to be honest. This is the third tik tok ban threat we’ve had this year. I think that it’ll get “banned” from downloading but eventually, they’ll come to an agreement bc Oracle is a Trump-supporting company”- Kasey Dugan
I feel overwhelmingly angry and hurt about it. It is where I express myself artistically as well as made friendships and grew as an artist — Jordan Ansberry
“I really feel as though focusing on banning a social media platform because you don’t like what’s happening on it amidst everything else going on right now is a huge slap in the face to BIPOC and everyone else who has been on the streets demanding reform. People are dying every day and Trump has shown no resolve to make any active changes – instead, he focuses on ways to smear the ambitions of anyone who opposes him and his administration…” – Jack Hannon
“The most upsetting thing for me about the tik tok ban is the fact that it has become a great space for the queer community. As a queer creator, its been so refreshing to go on a social media page that, because of my personal algorithm, is filled with almost solely lesbians, non-binary people, and other LGBTQ+ creators. Getting to be in an online space surrounded by a community I’m a part of and interact with creators who have similar experiences to me has been incredible and really sets tik tok apart from other platforms for me. If the ban goes through, it’s going to be really devastating to lose this space that has become almost a safe haven – Chloe Bowman
“I honestly just feel like it’s an abuse of power on the behalf of Trump. The fact that TikTok is one of his main concerns, in a time where almost 200,000 Americans have died because of a pandemic he couldn’t handle, is ridiculous and incredibly telling. I enjoy TikTok and have used it since 2018, and I don’t see how an app like this has resulted in more action and dedication from Trump than a whole pandemic”- Megan Arnold
“… I do not think the app should be banned, people use it to promote their businesses, promote themselves, and even use it as a safe space to connect with people who go through the same things as them. I think him trying to ban it will backfire on him and that a lot of people are going to end up hurt because they lost some business revenue. Trump needs to worry more about dealing with the Pandemic than he is with a social media app — Najla Alexander
