On Jan. 18, TikTok was temporarily shut down in the United States due to national security threats. The ban itself only lasted roughly 12 hours before it was available again, but users who deleted the app are now unable to re-download it. Although most people have a strong stance on whether the app should be banned or not, most people seem not to care all that much.
Many people argue that banning TikTok violates the First Amendment and free speech, but that is not the case. The First Amendment protects individual’s rights to express themselves, but it does not guarantee access to a specific app or platform. The government’s goal is not to censor free speech, but rather to address the potential risks posed by a foreign country accessing personal data.
“I don’t think it would be a violation of free speech because there are so many other ways to share your opinion and voice. When there are 10 ways to do it, I don’t think getting rid of one matters,” Pony Express staff members said.
However, the concern about a threat to national security and personal data is a topic of heavy discussion, as many experts argue that TikTok is not a threat. Experts like Justin Miller, an associate professor of cybersecurity at Tulsa University, said that if China wanted to spy on United States citizens, they could with almost any app on their phones. Additionally, TikTok collects data such as device info, browsing behavior and more. All of this information is similar to what large tech companies in the United States collect.
“A threat to national security is an overreaction, and social media companies like Meta collect the same data in the United States,” the Pony Express staff said.
According to BusinessDasher, there are over 7 million businesses on TikTok in the United States. Additionally, in 2023, TikTok generated $14.7 billion for small and medium-sized businesses. Although businesses will be negatively affected, most businesses will be able to adapt to a ban on TikTok and will be able to find success on other social media platforms.
“I think a lot of smaller businesses advertise on TikTok to get a broader audience, so it might impact them negatively, but eventually, they will be able to find more ways to market,” the Pony Express staff said.
All influencers on TikTok will be affected negatively by a ban, but most influencers will not be significantly affected. These influencers have built a very strong profile, and they know how to engage audiences across various social media platforms, so they aren’t reliant on one platform.
“Influencers that are smart “built up” followers on other platforms, so they will not be affected much,” the Pony Express staff said.
A ban on TikTok would not affect foreign relations with other countries. Many people seem to believe that a ban on TikTok could show that the United States wants to ban other apps that are not originally from the United States. That is simply wrong, as a main concern with TikTok is that it is owned by a company based in China with known ties to the Chinese government, and given the current relations between the United States and China, this raises significant issues.
“I think the main reason that TikTok got banned was because it was China, and I think that most other countries we have fairly good relations with, and likely we wouldn’t ban their app just because it’s them. I think that it’s sort of an obscure security thing,” the Pony Express staff said.
In the end, the attention to TikTok and a potential ban has seemed to die down, and most people do not care whether TikTok gets banned or not anymore. This is largely due to the fact that a potential ban has been in talks for almost a year. Additionally, people who use TikTok and social media a lot can switch to a different platform.
