Today, Wednesday, March 13, the House of Representatives will vote on a bill about TikTok. The bill has often been referenced as the ‘TikTok Ban’ because of what it entails.
Whether you’re a passive scroller using the app to find wellness tips or are making a livelihood on the platform, here’s why today's vote is noteworthy.
Is it really a TikTok ban?
Maybe yes, but right now, no. The bill could require app stores to stop selling and updating the app in September if ByteDance (TikTok’s parent company) doesn’t sell its shares of TikTok. In the meantime, the app would operate normally.
So this is all about who owns the app?
Yes, the U.S. government isn’t happy that TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company, which many Congress people see as a national security risk. The TL;DR is that the U.S. fears that the Chinese government could easily require ByteDance to turn over U.S. app users’ data or that they would be able to create content that’s funneled to a U.S. audience that could then influence an election, let’s say.
Just last month, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew answered more of Congress’ questions on the topic, but worries remained.
Why is today so important?
Before a bill becomes a law, it must pass the House of Representatives, the Senate, and then the President. Today, step 1, passing the House, may be finalized.
Should the bill pass the Senate (which is still a question mark), President Biden has stated he will sign it.
I’m a creator; how can this impact my livelihood?
Unfortunately, in a lot of ways. TikTok knows this too, so it’s why it’s used banner pop-ups in the platform to encourage creators to call their elected officials and ask them not to impact a sizable chunk of the small business sector.
I’m not a creator; what does this mean for me?
If ByteDance doesn’t sell its shares by September, it’ll mean fewer videos of cute animals, for starters. According to CNN, roughly 170 million people in the US are on the app. Many people now get everything from their news to recipes on the app, so losing access to the platform will probably be noticeable.
Where do both presidential candidates stand on this?
President Biden has said he will side with Congress on this issue. Presidential nominee Biden (officially ‘BidenHQ’ on TikTok) joined TikTok in February and with it underscored that the platform and its communities are an essential part of turning out the vote this November.
Former President Trump, the leading Republican nominee, only recently changed his view on TikTok. He openly disliked them (spearheading the first attempt to ban TikTok at the end of his term) but now has decided he hates Facebook more. (Meta and Trump have had a tense relationship since the platform banned him following January 6, 2021.)
Trump said, “There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok. But the thing I don’t like is that without TikTok, you can make Facebook bigger, and I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people along with a lot of the media.”
This is enough to help you feel informed if the headlines today read, “TikTok Ban Passed,” but the reality is that it’s a lot more complicated and will continue for months. This is an international affairs issue for one side and a business issue for the other.
To put it in TikTok terms, it’s like a debate between permissive and gentle parenting and whether there’s a difference. A side of TikTok that finds us all, whether we want to or not.