Since Jan. 20, President Donald Trump’s second administration has put 19 executive orders in place. However, among some of the winings of the current government, even before taking possession, the reverse of the decision to ban TikTok on U.S. territory stands out. 

This decision to ban TikTok comes from a 2021 executive order under the Joe Biden administration, known as Executive Order 14034, titled “Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data From Foreign Adversaries.” This order was the start of a hunt for applications that could be used as espionage devices.

Biden then signed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, effectively prohibiting the use of TikTok “on any device issued by the United States or a government corporation.” However, this was not enough, since civilians still had access to the application. 

Eventually, the House of Representatives passed a law titled the same as President Biden’s Executive Order, which came into effect on Jan. 19. However, in a plot twist Trump promised to restore service as soon as he arrived at the Oval Office.

This was a surprise because during his first term in office Trump was critical of TikTok and proposed to ban its use in U.S. territory. 

Leaving administration aside, what is the best thing in the end? Should TikTok be banned or still available? 

TIKTOK SHOULD BE BANNED 

By: Santiago Montanez, Opinion Columnist

TikTok is the pinnacle of how harmful social media can become, and the arguments against TikTok can be summarized in two points.

TikTok remains a Chinese application because the company owner is ByteDance, a Chinese company founded in Beijing and incorporated in the Cayman Islands (which are a known tax haven, a country with lower taxes for non-residents to increase foreign investment.) According to China’s national security laws, the private sector must collaborate with the government in intelligence-gathering operations. And what better for that than an application that relies on everyone recording short videos of their lives and surroundings?

In theory, the fact that Chinese intelligence officials watching people’s dances could not be seen as a big deal. But in reality, there is more to gather than just videos for the Chinese, answering to the execution of a series of strategies followed by the government since the creation of the People’s Republic of China.

Present-day China emerged in 1949 after the Communists won the Chinese Civil War. The continual and destructive conflict left China extremely vulnerable, with minimal industry and technology.

To solve this problem, the Chinese government employed reverse engineering and economic reforms. Reverse engineering is the study of an object to obtain data and information from it on how it was manufactured, and that’s how China produced weapons for its army, stealing or buying foreign equipment to disassemble, obtain intel and then reproduce it with Chinese updates. 

And not just with military intel, the Chinese spies are known for acquiring information related to business and economics in other countries, like trade secrets. The list is long, and includes from famous spies like Larry Wu-tai Chin, double agent of CIA working for China, to recent cyberattacks directed against all kinds of organizations in the private and public sector.

TikTok is just another way to expand China’s influence. The ability to gather information from TikTok not only to try and access national security secrets but also business secrets using microphones and access people allow the application to have put the Chinese ahead when negotiating economic deals or revealing sensitive information that TikTok users could mention while having their phone near..

TikTok is being taken as a reference point and reliable source of information for the youth. This is true in the U.S. and abroad. Additionally, many trends are facilitated through TikTok, including fashion styles, conspiracy theories or social movements. On TikTok we can find absurd beliefs, people in need of attention, misogyny and misandry as well as misinformation of public health issues such as COVID-19, autism and cancer.

This app is used by young people who cannot correctly judge which content is false and which is true, or which content is dangerous and which is not.

TIKTOK SHOULD NOT BE BANNED 

By: Gray Edelstein, Opinion Columnist 

TikTok should not be banned in the U.S. because it greatly restricts freedom of expression and fails to address a real issue. 

As one of the top 10 most popular social media platforms in the country TikTok became a massive cultural force creating trends and music hits, it has evolved into a place of advocacy for many users, according to Exploding Topics.

The platform provides short video entertainment and information uploaded by its users. Misinformation is likely to come from any social media platform and banning TikTok while not holding any other sites accountable defeats the purpose of its ban to begin with.

TikTok is under review to be banned supposedly for the safety of citizens’ data and national security concerns. Yet, Meta and other American companies experience data collection scandals, undermining the overall goal. 

Let us also not forget who started threatening to ban TikTok in the first place, President Trump back in 2020.

Banning a major communication platform like TikTok, would be a significant loss for free expression, creativity and cultural innovation.