Tick-Tock for TikTok?
House Bill Could Lead to the Ban on TikTok
By Mitchell Kayal, Managing Editor
On March 5, 2024, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Application Act was introduced by representatives of the house, Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi.
Two days after that bill was introduced, it would be approved as there was a resounding 352-65 vote to move forward with this bill.This bill could lead to the ban of TikTok if itsparent company, ByteDance, does not sell theplatform to an American owned company bythe deadline.
TikTok is a popular social media app heavily reliant upon the uploading and sharing of short videos. Supporters of a ban on the platform cite security concerns regarding the app’s country of origin being China. iPulse interviewed members of the Lynn community to see whether they agreed with the ban.
“Some other platform can just take it’s place,” said Shane Bernstein, a senior studying sports management. “TikTok is the evolution of Vine, so that trend has already started.”
Vine, a popular video sharing platform formerly owned by Twitter, operated from 2013 to 2017 before being shut down by its parent’s company after being deemed no longer financially viable. If TikTok receives an official ban from the US government, it may be the first ban of its kind.
“I prefer an app like TikTok to be owned by the U.S.,” said Peter Ferraro, a junior majoring inaviation management.
Concern about Chinese involvement in TikTok may stem from a law in China which gives government officials the authority to access all data from and Chinese business.
After viewing the success of TikTok, several other platforms have implemented a similar “shorts-form” content distribution strategy, including YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. Because of this, some students are not concerned about the ban at all.
“I’ll just switch over to Instagram Reels,” said Garrett Burdette, a junior studying Psychology.
While it is still yet unclear whether or not the ban will go through, the prevalence of short form content on other platforms has made it obvious that even if TikTok disappears, similar content will remain for the foreseeable future.
