TikTok is no stranger to controversies, having faced temporary bans now and then after constant criticism for app addiction in younger generations.
The legal struggle between Tiktok and the US government has been in the news all of 2024, and TikTok could be facing a potential nationwide ban in the country if ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok does not divest its US operations by January 19, as part of a law signed by President Joe Biden on April 14th, 2024 following bipartisan concerns about the platform’s ties to the Chinese government and the consequent potential national security risks.
TikTok has already filed lawsuits arguing that the forced divestment violated free speech rights. The court battle is creating uncertainty over the future of the app in 2025 and could potentially delay the ban.
Concerns Over Data Privacy and Surveillance
TikTok boasts a substantial user base of over 170 million people in the US, who use the platform for content creation and communication. However, US lawmakers have expressed worry about data privacy and potential surveillance through the app by the Chinese government.
Tiktok’s legal team insists that the app operates independently and should not be subject to such a drastic measure, citing the First Amendment and the right to free speech and also pointing out that thousands of American jobs would be at risk, and its rival social media platforms would be given unbridled power.
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Lawsuits and Allegations of Addictive Content
Besides the security concerns, TikTok is also embroiled in several lawsuits regarding its impact on children and teenagers and concerns over addiction to the platform. The lawsuits accuse the company of knowingly designing the app to be highly addictive and thereby contributing to mental health concerns among its young users.
Tiktok’s algorithms are also being accused of deliberately pushing addictive content to keep minors hooked and encouraging excessive use through features such as infinite scrolling which continuously brings up new content without any clear stopping point. In response to the claims, TikTok introduced screen time management tools and content control for young users, but the measures proved insufficient and were mostly brushed off as a marketing scheme for damage control.
To top it all off, an accidental leak of documents, submitted by TikTok as part of the two-year-long investigation for a lawsuit, also revealed that the makers of the app were informed on the potential lasting mental health damage and addictive behavior the app could cause, even pinpointing the number of minutes and exact number of videos one would have to watch to form a habit, according to the company’s research on the correlation, by watching 260 videos or continuously watching videos for 35 minutes on TikTok, the average user is likely to get addicted.
TikTok had attempted to redact the papers but an error in the redaction process led to disclosure of the information. A TikTok spokesman has condemned the disclosure of information under a court seal, and states that the complaint “takes outdated documents out of context to misrepresent [TikTok’s] commitment to community safety.”
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Political Impact and Future of TikTok in the US
In the previous government, former US President Donald Trump had also attempted to ban the app while he was in office in 2020, but the Republican 2024 presidential candidate has now criticized the new legislation by President Biden, with the argument that banning TikTok would give an unfair advantage to Facebook and Meta.
The bill does not signify an immediate ban but rather gives ByteDance an ultimatum: sell TikTok to a new buyer within nine months until January 19 (with an additional three-month grace period) or completely halt all operations in the US. However, the company’s counteraction means that the fight to block this legislation could last years.
The multiple lawsuits now faced by TikTok showcase not only the data privacy and internal security concerns for the government but also the issue of social media addiction and its influence on mental health, particularly among children and teenagers who are more susceptible to the pressures of online comparison and constant connectivity.
If the court decides to uphold the law, ByteDance may be forced to sell the app to an American entity or face a complete halt of operations in the US and its removal from app stores nationwide.
Moreover, it will also give broader powers to the president to limit apps that are suspected to have ties to US adversary countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. With the app being at the height of its popularity in the country, the final verdict of this case could set a precedent for the regulation of foreign-owned tech platforms in the US, and the coming year will be critical in determining whether TikTok survives as part of the American social media landscape, or it will become the first high-profile casualty as a result of growing national security concerns.
