Tik Tok is a very popular app around the world and in the U.S. Tik Tok hit its peak in 2020 and grew and grew during COVID-19, and suspicion grew about whether or not it’s a safe app. Even though the owner of the app denies he has connections to the Chinese government. It has been proven China can access TikTok users anytime it wants. Recently, The House in the U.S. government has passed a bill in which if the owner does not sell TikTok to the U.S., then it will be banned in the U.S.
This bill forces TikTok to either sell the company to the U.S. government or the app will be banned in the U.S. entirely. The U.S. government has given TikTok 6 months to decide if they want to sell their company to the U.S. or not have be available in the U.S. The app is not banned yet but with every day that passes, it looks more and more likely. Many people watch TikTok here at Rio like Gavin Shadrick, an 8th grader. “TikTok grabs your attention easily with its content by giving the viewer what it wants to watch while other social media platforms don’t do the same very well”.
Over 1 billion monthly active users are on the app. This is ⅛ of the population in the world, which shows how big this app is. In the past years, its relationship with the Chinese government has been questioned, but its owner has constantly denied it. However, there is proof that China can access any user’s account in the U.S. and then use their data. Although this is the case there is some proof that China can do this and has been. This is why the U.S. government is worried that government secrets can get hacked and stolen. A bill has been put in place to try to stop TikTok from accessing any user’s account.
If the U.S. were to ban TikTok, many would be outraged at the decision. Right now there are many protests to keep Tik Tok and not to ban it. A TikTok ban has been rumored for a long time and now looks like a reality. TikTok is a massive social media platform that wants to be in the U.S. for a multitude of reasons. If Tik Tok is banned there might be a lot of angry people.