TikTok is on the clock. And according to Congress, this party is about to stop—the House of Representatives on Wed. March 14th passed a bill that would force ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, to sell the app or face a ban in U.S app stores. The app is facing a potential ban due to the possibility that ByteDance will hand over the personal information of its users to the Chinese government. This greatly affects Americans, who according to TikTok have 150 million U.S.-based users.
The path to the TikTok ban is still unclear though, as the next step is to get it passed in the Senate, where its future remains uncertain. According to NBC, it may be months before the Senate decides to vote on the TikTok bill due to a lack of urgency among senators. But should the bill be passed President Biden recently promised to sign the bill into action despite his campaign operating a TikTok account.
This has led many to be wary of a possible TikTok ban, but not Scott Brown better known as @hofbuilder. Brown operates a Lego-building TikTok account with over 295 thousand followers and is the father of GlenOak junior Maya Brown.
“If TikTok gets banned it’s obviously going to shut down everyone’s account but I don’t think it will happen,” Brown said.
Brown believes that a TikTok ban shouldn’t be the priority of congressional members.
“I think every social media platform spreads misinformation. I don’t think TikTok is worse than any other platform,” Brown said. “Instead I think our politicians should be more focused on things like gun control and women’s rights instead of banning TikTok”
While Brown isn’t concerned about the possibility of a TikTok ban, he does have an idea of how he would respond should the ban be enacted.
“(If TikTok was banned) I would focus on all of my other social media accounts, Instagram Reels would probably be the next best option,” Brown said.
Instagram Reels is already some content creators’ primary platform, specifically sophomore Johari AbdulZahir or @glamified.by.johari who has over three thousand followers on Instagram making beauty and lifestyle content.
“For me, my primary fan base is on Instagram so that is what I make my content for and what my sponsors are from and I just repost my Instagram Reels onto TikTok,” AbdulZahir said. “The (TikTok) ban won’t have a huge effect on me but I know other creators can be limited”
That is why many have criticized the TikTok ban as it could restrict content creator’s free speech.
“A ban is restricting content creators’ voices and the impact they may have,” AbdulZahir said. “Many creators have their largest following on TikTok because of the ease of the platform so by removing that platform the government is removing creator’s ability to spread their message to their fans.”
But some believe that a TikTok ban is beneficial, specifically some who work in education including AP U.S. History teacher Benjamin Hughes.
“I am sure there is some valuable content on TikTok, but for educational purposes, I have to teach students for 90 minutes, I can’t compete with the instant gratification and dopamine that TikTok gives students,” Hughes said.
With the likelihood of a TikTok ban increasing, teachers, content creators, and viewers must learn to adapt to the changes of this ever-changing and complex world.
