Undoubtedly, most of you reading are probably aware of the tide of TikTok rolling over and encapsulating everyone from children to grandparents in its addicting web of mindless scrolling. A Chinese app where creators worldwide post short 15-second videos, the over 800 million TikTok users show off everything from dance trends, cooking videos, pranks, and many more unimaginably creative things. Through worldwide lockdowns, many of us - myself included! - have fallen into the trap of TikTok and spend hours scrolling through the notorious ‘For You Page’ with content catered to our likes. But what we’re here to discuss is… what’s going on with all the talk about the ‘TikTok Ban’?
Being a China-based app, many worldwide have raised concerns over the apps data storage and algorithm being a ‘national security threat’. TikTok’s collection of user data allows their For You Page to perfectly feed our preferences, making us come back for more - but this has also generated widespread worries about the apps link to the Chinese Communist Party and their access to ByteDance’s (TikTok’s parent company) data.
India, which is home to TikTok’s largest overseas market, has already banned the app along with 58 other Chinese apps over data privacy solicitudes. In an effort to seem less tied to the CCP, TikTok even halted their operations in Hong Kong. However, in regards to the US, their Secretary of State - Mike Pompeo - stated their worries over data sharing with the CCP, saying “These Chinese software companies doing business with the United States, whether it’s TikTok or WeChat… are feeding data directly to the Chinese Communist Party… it could be their facial recognition pattern, it could be information about their residence, their phone numbers, or their friends who they’re connected to.” With this statement, the White House made its stance on the app clear, and Trump warned TikTok of another 45 days of operation to reach a deal with a US company, such as Microsoft.
Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, has been conversing with President Trump over the acquisition of the app. In their statement, they said they’ll have to present the US Government with the economic benefits and a thorough security review of TikTok and ByteDance before any decisions can be finalised. They also clearly reinstated several times that all data would be transferred to and kept within the US.
Although a Microsoft acquisition would appease the plethora of TikTok lovers worldwide, due to the price offered, many believe that the chance of it happening is significantly low, and the chances of social media platform, Twitter, doing the deed instead are even lower.
Whatever happens - here’s a final message for you all… Enjoy it while it lasts! Or head on over to Triller, a similar app competing for TikTok’s fame, where many TikTok stars have already transferred over in fear of their moneymaker vanishing when they wake up!
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