TikTok Ban: Government Overreach or Needed Security?

By Dawson Beard, Skyline Columnist

SUL ROSS- At present, 27 states have banned the Chinese-owned video sharing app, TikTok, from use on government issued devices. Although many find the ban ridiculous, I see it, simply, as a crucial and proactive security measure.

This rapidly spreading policy was born out of fear that ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, might be collecting user data and sharing it with the Chinese Communist Party. This would give the CCP access to millions of TikTok users’ data, including their approximate location, name, age, internet activity, IP address, viewing habits on the app, ad interaction and more. U.S. officials say this data breach could pose a threat to national security.

This issue brings about something that is, unfortunately, foreign in today’s political landscape, common ground between Democrats and Republicans. President Biden recently signed a bill passed by the U.S. Congress with bipartisan support that bans TikTok on all federal government-issued devices.

For the first time since Biden has been president, I can honestly say that I support his decision; banning TikTok on government devices was an action that needed to be taken for the sake of our country’s safety. Contrary to the opinion of many, I am even open to the idea of a nationwide ban of TikTok..

“It’s a little ridiculous,” said a Sul Ross State University student when asked their opinion on the recent string of TikTok bans. “What’s the big deal?”

That is a fair question: “What’s the big deal?” This isn’t the first instance of a social media platform having issues with data breaches. In 2018, Facebook was caught selling 87 million users’ data to Cambridge Analytica, a company with close ties to Trump’s presidential campaign. Cambridge Analytica purchased the data in hopes of obtaining information on possible Trump voters.

The possible TikTok user data breach could be far more serious and have even greater influence and impact on Americans, making Facebook’s breach look like a minor incident.

On the one hand, Facebook was not selling user data to the United States’s geopolitical adversary. The CCP could have access to hundreds of millions of Americans’ private data, which definitely warrants concern. The values, governance, and policies of the two nations could not be more at odds. It’s quite possible that the CCP would utilize user data to spread false information and propaganda to influence Americans, or utilize government officials’ personal data for political or financial gain.

Unfortunately, Democrats are slower to act on this possible threat than Republicans as a large majority of states that have banned TikTok on government devices are governed by Republicans. . This includes our governor here in Texas, Greg Abbott, who signed the state’s bill banning the app on government devices back in December. This largely one-sided response is odd to me. In 2016, Democrats were against foreign bodies, such as Russia, influencing content exposure and public opinion within America.

Regardless of party affiliation and whether or not there is any truth to the concerns politicians across the country have regarding the potential threat TikTok could pose to national safety and security, it is not their job to sit back and wait for bad things to happen. It is their job to stop the threat, potential or real, dead in its tracks before it has the opportunity to negatively impact the lives of Americans.