On Friday, Jan. 17, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law that required TikTok to shut down in the United States unless its Chinese company can sell off the U.S. company on Sunday, Jan. 19. Many TikTok consumers, regardless of age, took to the application (app) to voice their frustration over the ban.
Prior to January, U.S. lawmakers pushed to block TikTok across the country because of the security concerns that exist on the app. The public and experts differ in their reaction to how the government should strike a balance between security needs and personal freedoms. Many members of Congress support a TikTok ban because they believe the Chinese-owned app threatens U.S. national security.
The app takes many consumer details that Chinese officials may access because of security regulations in their country. Supporters of the ban wonder if it deals with the security issue in a balanced way without stepping on people’s First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other protection groups believe banning platforms may create future government censorship risks. Users defend TikTok because it lets young people produce artistic content and connect with others while helping political causes.
TikTok should continue to remain available, and the Chinese company should sell the app to a U.S. owner or company. Our government should evaluate Meta and other social media apps when deciding TikTok's future. Previously, Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta owner, faced multiple privacy scandals including the Cambridge Analytica data misuse while monitoring users and gathering significant amounts of their personal information.
People worry their data may be passed to political or commercial groups without their approval. Instagram is also Meta-owned, so Meta faces severe criticism from users because it fails to protect user privacy. Studies have shown that Instagram affects young adolescents’ mental health, and the platform continues to face official oversight about these findings. Google even gathers extensive personal data from all major Google products.
In another instance, X, previously known as Twitter, handles large amounts of user information while dealing with discussions about privacy and false content. People do not monitor TikTok's personal data safeguards as closely as they do with Meta, but it deals with data security and platform use in politics. Snapchat also raises concerns about user tracking.
For user privacy protection and foreign influence control, it should require uniform worldwide data privacy standards that apply to all tech companies instead of singling out TikTok. A consistent approach to corporate monitoring would help maintain equality and openness while defending global people's human rights in today's interconnected age.
When the government considers restricting access to TikTok and similar apps, it stands as a direct challenge to First Amendment rights because it seeks to control what users see and express. Although the government defends national security through data privacy regulations, it should still uphold First Amendment rights, so TikTok should remain in the app store.