Want to Ban TikTok? Depends How Old You Are

Most people in the US probably wouldn’t be able to tell you what a “trending sound” is, but they’re in favor of a TikTok ban, according to a Pew Research Center survey(Opens in a new window).

In the study, 50% of respondents agree with a ban, which would be an unprecedented action by the government; 22% oppose it and 28% are unsure. The short-form-video social-media platform has come under criticism from President Biden and Congress for its ties to China and concerns over spying. And though TikTok evaded a ban under the previous administration, it might not manage to this time around. 

The House Foreign Affairs Committee has advanced legislation to allow for the ban, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew for hours last month about the company’s reporting practices to its parent company. It was a hearing that TikTok COO Vanessa Pappas characterized as “rooted in xenophobia,”(Opens in a new window) since TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, which the US and other governments(Opens in a new window) believe is using the addictive app to harvest data from their citizens. 

But while this is true of TikTok, it’s also true of absolutely every social media app. This data can also be purchased legally and cheaply by any entity that wants it, including China. (The FBI even does it(Opens in a new window) to avoid having to obtain warrants.) 

(Credit: Pew Research Center)

The Pew study also found that increased awareness that TikTok is owned by a Chinese company correlates to increased support of a ban, with 60% of those who know of the app’s country of origin in favor of the ban.

Age, too, is an indicator of whether someone is more likely to approve of a ban. The older someone is, the more likely they are to support the ban: 71% of those ages 65 and older, 54% of those 50 to 64, 45% of those 30 to 49, and only 29% of those 18 to 29. 

While TikTok’s fate swings in the balance, its creators stand to lose the businesses and audiences they’ve built. And regular users could be cut off from communities they’ve formed, which have been particularly important during the pandemic. It benefits everyone who has a passing opinion of the potential ban to seek out more information on the existing failures of data privacy in the United States and to gain experience with the app itself.

Mozilla Project Lead Talks App Privacy with PCMag