Written by: Sarah Johnson | March 15, 2024

*** Watch Sarah and Stephen discuss this bill on Tiktok or our Substack, or listen to the discussion on our Podcast: BillTrack50 Beyond the Bill Number on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or where ever you get your podcasts ***

This week, in light of the recent news out of the US House, a look at TikTok bans from around the US. TikTok is a short-form video hosting service owned by ByteDance that has become immensely popular (find us on TikTok!) since it was released in the US five years ago. Concerns about another social media network and how it can influence its users as well as privacy concerns have been at the forefront of discussions about TikTok since it came to the States. This debate has heated up even more with the US House passing US HR7521 (a bill that gives TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, six months to sell all but 20% to a US based company, or face a ban) this week! So, let's dive into what is behind the motivations for TikTok bans and the legislation proposed from around the country.

Why do Politicians want to ban TikTok?

The biggest concern for people about TikTok is how the company is, or could, be using the data it collects on the users for nefarious reasons. In its privacy policy, TikTok lists that it collects usage information, IP addresses, a user's mobile carrier, unique device identifiers, keystroke patterns, location data, and other data. How this algorithm works and what is done with the data is a bit of a "black box" for everyone outside of ByteDance. Before the House vote, Sen. John Cornyn (Republican from Texas), said “I certainly think it is a threat. Because under existing Chinese law any information any Chinese company collects, they have to share with the Chinese Communist Party. So it’s well documented that one of the strategies that Communist China has is to collect all this data and apply their artificial intelligence to do mass surveillance, and more.”

Another factor here is that most people who are on TikTok also get most of their news and information from the app. So if technology is "in charge" of what people are being served in their feed, theoretically, that technology can influence the person to a pretty big extent. Even further, there are no checks as to what content could be AI generated and there are no "fact checks" related to what people are sharing. This issue also came up in our recent blog about Combatting AI Deepfakes in Elections.

The other issue for a lot of people is what they perceive TikTok to be to our society. It is a very well known fact that most of the people who are on TikTok, are on TikTok. According to Wallaroo Media, an average TikTok user spends 95 minutes a day on the app. When it comes to public opinion on this, for example, former Vice President Mike Pence wrote in an opinion that TikTok “is essentially digital fentanyl, a 21st century technological weapon. The app is so potent and addictive that TikTok is banned within China.”

Breakdown of Some General Reasoning

Reasons why governments may consider banning TikTok:

National Security Concerns: One of the most prominent reasons for banning TikTok has been national security concerns. Some governments believe that TikTok poses a threat to their national security, as the app collects user data, and there are concerns that this data could be accessed or exploited by foreign governments.
Data Privacy: Concerns about the handling of user data and privacy issues have led to calls for bans on TikTok. Governments worry about the extent to which personal data is collected, shared, and potentially misused by the platform.
Inappropriate Content: Some governments may decide to ban TikTok due to concerns about inappropriate or harmful content on the platform. They might view the content as unsuitable for their citizens, particularly young users.
Spread of Misinformation: Like other social media platforms, TikTok can be a channel for the spread of false information or misinformation. In some cases, governments may perceive this as a significant issue and decide to ban the platform to combat the spread of false information.
Cultural Concerns: TikTok's content can vary widely, and some governments may take issue with content that goes against their cultural or moral values. This can be a basis for banning the platform or certain content within it.
Competitive Interests: In some cases, governments may support domestic alternatives or competitors to TikTok and may consider banning it to promote their own platforms.
Political Control: Authoritarian governments may seek to ban TikTok to maintain strict control over the information and content their citizens can access, as it can be a powerful tool for sharing information and opinions.

What is Happening?

The extent to which a ban could be implemented varies greatly on the legislation that is passed, and at what level of the government. Additionally, the legality and feasibility of banning a widely used social media platform like TikTok can be a complex and contentious issue, involving international considerations, legal challenges, and public opinion. One particular issue is whether or not a ban on TikTok violates the First Amendment.

What is even more interesting, is that before this most recent House bill (HR7521), most of the movement towards banning TikTok was on the State level. Usually, when looking at banning technology and applications, these decisions are made at a national, more sweeping level, rather than by individual states, mostly for the sake of simplicity in enforcing the ban. National attention towards banning TikTok fell off quite a bit since Trump left office.

Previously, the biggest news on the national stage was when the Trump administration banned TikTok unless it was acquired by an American company via an Executive Order signed by Trump in 2020 (it never went into effect as it was challenged in federal court). Surprisingly, this week Trump reversed his stance on the TikTok ban, instead saying on CNBC's "Squawk Box", "There's a lot of good and there's a lot of bad with TikTok, but the thing I don't like is that without TikTok, you're going to make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media."

Federal Bills

In January 2020, the United States Army and Navy banned TikTok on government devices after the Defense Department labeled it a security risk. Now, to attract young people, there are unofficial promotional videos posted under personal accounts, to try to help boost enlistment.

Just this week, the US House voted with overwhelming bipartisan support (352 to 65, with 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans voting in opposition) to pass HR7521. This bill aims to prohibit TikTok from US app stores unless it is divested from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and acquired by a US company. It’s not clear whether the Senate will take up the bill and vote, and if they do, the timeline.

There are quite a few other US bills that aim to limit TikTok in many different ways. The No TikTok on United States Devices Act (signed as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act by President Joe Biden in 2022) prohibits the use of TikTok on all federal government devices. Then there's the Terminate TikTok on Campus Act of 2023 (in committee since January 2023) which seeks to prohibit Federal funds from being provided to an institution of higher education unless the institution has banned use of TikTok on electronic devices. Or there's the GOT Act (Government Off TikTok) Act which aims to prohibit officers, employees, and elected officials of the Federal Government from having, establishing, and maintaining official accounts on TikTok.

State Bills

There are currently 80 bills related to TikTok bans from around the country.

Many states have passed legislation or rules that ban government employees from accessing and having TikTok on government devices. All of these states passed their bans in 2023: Idaho, Kentucky, Lousiana, Maine, Texas, and Virginia. This year, Illinois proposed a bill aimed at prohibiting the use of TikTok on State devices by any State personnel or other personal. Hawaii proposed a resolution this year urging the united states congress to pass the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" to divest ownership of tiktok or be subject to a nationwide ban.

In May 2023, Montana became the first state to ban TikTok on all personal devices, though it was blocked by a judge in Federal Court before it could go into effect, with the judge saying the law "violates the Constitution in more ways than one" and "oversteps state power.". The state is appealing the judge's ruling and is still attempting to get the ban to go into effect.

Is TikTok doing anything?

In this most recent legislative movement from the House, TikTok took two different approaches to try to galvanize public opinion in its favor. The first was an in app message displayed to US users urging them to call their senators and ask them to vote no on HR7521. As of writing this article, there is an active notice displayed which allows users to enter their zip code to receive their Senator's number said "Tell your Senator how important TikTok is to you. Ask them to vote no on the TikTok ban."

notice from tiktok asking users to call their senators to vote against legislation aiming to ban tiktok

In the second approach, TikTok has tapped their high powered influencers to create content about what they do on TikTok (like crochet, cook, dance), with many of these influencers traveling to the White House to speak out against the bill.

What do you think will happen? Do you think it is unreasonable for the government to ask that TikTok be sold? Is this a step too far? Not far enough? Is it ethical that TikTok is showing the notice to users?

Cover Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash