As TikTok Ban Approaches, U.S. Scrambles to Find Alternative

            TikTok is currently in a state of limbo in the United States. It had been given an ultimatum by Donald Trump during his first term: either disassociate from the Chinese government or lose most of its American audience. Trump promised to uphold the ban on TikTok in case its parent company, ByteDance, did not relocate to the U.S., but Trump signed an executive order to delay the ban by 75 days upon his second term. It will end on April 5 this year.

            Short-form content has shaped a new generation: one of hyper-consumerism in the media and dependence on the Internet. TikTok is a primary contributor to this phenomenon; its entanglement with Chinese international politics thus makes it a controversial platform. The lurking threat of espionage through the Internet jeopardizes the First Amendment, to protect the people's freedom from censorship. The government must decide between actively censoring TikTok and allowing the possibility of ByteDance breaching the privacy of its users.

            Nevertheless, ByteDance is not a U.S.-owned company and is instead a private institution based in Beijing. In September of 2019, the newspaper The Guardian proved ByteDance was censoring videos sensitive to Chinese politics, especially discussions of the Tiananmen massacre, Tibetan independence, and Falun Gong.

            To understand TikTok’s expansive impact, it is important to note its history, starting with the founding of ByteDance in 2012. In July of 2014, the company launched Musical.ly, an app designed to facilitate lip-syncing videos and sharing these videos with friends. A year later, it climbed the ranks to #1 on the app store. TikTok was launched in 2016 as an international version of the Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin, a very similar Chinese-only version. In 2017, TikTok merged with Musical.ly, and its more dynamic platform made more diverse types of content available to share.

            Since then, it has been the centerpiece of several controversies, including the discussion of the previously mentioned article from the Guardian. Many concerns were not empirical but simply ideological: TikTok gives power to a private company tied with the Chinese Communist Party. This makes it significantly easier to implicitly indoctrinate young Americans by controlling what they get shown on the platform.

            ByteDance assured the public that content moderation was purely apolitical. Nevertheless, content related to Trump skyrocketed while coverage of the Hong Kong protests was very sparse. Concern became more widespread among Americans in October of 2019. A federal investigation began in November of 2019, focused on TikTok’s acquisition of the Musical.ly platform. The Pentagon suggested military personnel delete TikTok from their personal and work devices, fearing the possibility of subtle propaganda.

            TikTok’s influence on the younger generation is undeniable, so its banning will inevitably have significant effects. The era of anxiety is not ending, but this event can act as a wake-up call for some.

            Earlier this year, sometime near 11 p.m. on January 18, ByteDance removed TikTok from American access. Upon opening the app, American users were greeted with a notification explaining the app’s short-term ban. The pop-up added, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!” The official ban was active more than an hour later at midnight, so app stores were no longer allowed to offer the app as of the next day.

            At 7 a.m. that day, Trump posted “SAVE TIKTOK” to Truth Social, a social media website run by Trump Media and Technology Group (TMTG). He later promised American companies freedom from prosecution for interacting with TikTok, even urging service providers to continue offering the app.

            Recently, alternatives to TikTok have become more popular, and the global reaction to its banning (and subsequent reopening) has been relatively optimistic. Sophomore Lillian Zhang said, “I think Instagram is cool because you can send posts and reels to people. You can text people too.” After the 75 day extension, sites like Instagram, YouTube, and XiaoHongShu (Rednote) may become refuge sites.

            Sophomore Logan Wong said, “I've never used TikTok so I feel 100% unaffected. I use Instagram and YouTube for my short-form content instead.”

            However, not all of the responses have been positive. Tenth grader Saly Wang said, “I don’t want it to be banned because I don’t want people going to RedNote.” RedNote is a TikTok style short-form content platform that includes more informational videos and Chinese culture. “Culturally, it’s supposed to be exclusively for Chinese people. It’s sort of like gentrification, if that makes sense.”

            RedNote is a self-described social bonding platform with features similar to Instagram and Pinterest. It is based in a company from Shanghai and experienced an influx of TikTok refugees

            According to AP News, Trump said online that he delayed the TikTok ban “so that we can make a deal to protect national security.” He joined the platform last year and since then has reported enjoying TikTok and praised its community.