Last month, the House passed a bipartisan bill with an overwhelming 352 to 65 vote that would force the Chinese conglomerate ByteDance to sell TikTok to a buyer that’s not a “foreign adversary,” or face a ban in the U.S. The White House endorsed the bill and urged the Senate to “move swiftly.” However, the Senate has yet to decide whether to present the bill for a vote.
Now, it has new momentum. On April 17, House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a plan to include the TikTok sell-or-ban bill in a package of bills providing new aid for Ukraine and Israel. Its inclusion in the package may help push it through the Senate with limited debate.
For the sake of our kids and republic, strong legislation is best to be enacted quickly. Here are five reasons why, along with an alternate path to put both countries on friendlier footing.
First, the Chinese government blocks every major American web and social media company, including Meta, Google, Twitter/X, etc. It’s entirely unfair that China — a powerful adversary to the U.S. — can wage its influence on American citizens while barring American web companies from its shores.
Chew on that for a moment. This isn’t a level playing field.
Second, there is precedent for a forced sale. In 2020, the dating app Grindr was forced to be sold from its Chinese owner after the U.S. expressed data security concerns. The U.S. has maintained laws prohibiting foreign ownership of broadcasting companies for decades. We don’t let China control what’s on our TVs and radios.
But that’s old tech. Now most of the media we consume is via the web on our laptops, and apps on our phones — far outside that dated legislation’s purview. This is nonsensical. It’s time for a refresh.
Third, TikTok’s data privacy violations are robust. Of course, American web and social media companies including Meta, Google and Twitter/X have clear similarities in their data-harvesting. Yet TikTok’s practices are uniquely troubling.
In 2022, ByteDance staff were discovered spying on U.S. journalists covering the company, using data from the reporters’ TikTok accounts to suss out their sources. In 2023, TikTok employees were caught sharing U.S. user data, including driver’s licenses, addresses and photos, with ByteDance employees in China.
Under China’s National Intelligence Law, Chinese firms must submit any information demanded by the government, including data on foreign nationals. It’s no wonder that in 2023, citing national security concerns, the White House directed federal agencies to remove TikTok from all government devices.
Fourth, there are numerous documented examples of TikTok being used by the Chinese government as a tool for propaganda and political disinformation — so much that FBI director Christopher Wray cautioned that the Chinese government can exploit TikTok to “influence American users or control their devices.” While American social media companies are known to boost noxious content, they don’t have a government agenda baked into their content decisions for overseas users — a significant difference.
Fifth, America’s youth are at risk. TikTok boasts 170 million users in the U.S., a third of whom are aged 14 or younger. This means that TikTok is gathering data on and influencing the minds of 50-60 million American children.
As reported by “60 Minutes,” the version of TikTok available in China is profoundly different from ours in the West. Douyin, its Chinese version, serves young users educational content related to science and engineering, and they’re capped at 40 minutes per day. Conversely, here in the West, TikTok’s trending videos are often superficial and even explicitly sexual. It may come as little shock that when surveyed, the most popular goal among kids in China is to be an astronaut, while in America it’s to be a social media influencer.
Given these facts, what’s preventing legislation?
In part, there are political reasons. Some Democratic strategists have warned that pushing to potentially ban TikTok “could have serious consequences this fall for engaging young voters.”
These fears may be overblown. A Biden campaign adviser recently told Politico that their “youth turnout program isn’t overly dependent on TikTok.” Since the legislation is bipartisan, unhappy voters may blame both parties equally.
Former President Trump recently expressed his opposition to the TikTok bill, a reversal from his position in 2020. He argued that banning TikTok would be a gift to Meta.
For sure, the initial big winners of a TikTok ban would be its largest rivals: Meta (via Facebook and Instagram), Google (via YouTube), and Twitter/X. Notably, a TikTok ban would also be a boon for smaller competitors like Triller, Clapper and other emergent upstarts. Plus, there are better solutions to tackle Big Tech monopolism, such as new legislation for data interoperability.
On both sides of the aisle, some opponents to the bill warned that a TikTok ban would curtail Americans’ free speech, which may lead to future legal showdowns. Millions of Americans rely on TikTok for entertainment, and many rely on it for their incomes. These are valid concerns.
Fortunately, there are migratory examples that, while occurring under different sets of circumstances, demonstrate the power of users to find effective alternatives. MySpace users migrated en masse to Facebook. Vine users migrated en masse to YouTube and then TikTok. Skype users migrated to Zoom. Let’s not underestimate users’ abilities to establish new beachheads. (As an aside, a 2024 report showed that TikTok’s growth is already stagnating in the U.S.)
Alternatively, here’s a new proposal: If China lifts its ban on American web companies, then TikTok can remain in the U.S. untouched. How’s that for an olive branch?
Mark Weinstein is a world-renowned tech thought leader and privacy expert. He is the founder of the social network MeWe, which he left in July 2022, and is currently writing a book on the intersection of social media, mental health, privacy, civil discourse and democracy.