What you need to know
- We polled our readers, asking if they support the call to ban TikTok in the U.S.
- Out of nearly 1,400 votes, 63% say they think TikTok should be banned.
- Many who voted no point out that U.S. companies have been caught doing worse than what TikTok is accused of.
The U.S. government is currently threatening to ban TikTok. In last week's testimony, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew told U.S. lawmakers that Chinese ByteDance employees may still have access to U.S. user data but that the Chinese government has not requested they hand over any of the data and that TikTok would refuse any such request.
Still, lawmakers on both sides appear concerned over the data of American users, despite Chew stating that TikTok is currently in the process of deleting the data accessible by Chinese employees in order to keep it secured in the U.S.
Following the testimony, we asked our readers if they think TikTok should be banned in the United States. A majority of 63% say that TikTok should be banned, with 31% saying it shouldn't and the remaining 5% saying they're unsure.
While most voters seem to side with the U.S. government on this stance, many have questioned the motives behind the move. Android Central's Jerry Hildenbrand argues that banning TikTok isn't really about protecting American privacy; it's about politics. It's the fact that TikTok's parent company ByteDance is a Chinese company and that the Chinese government could potentially get its hands on U.S. data.
He also argues that while the U.S. is concerned about China taking our data, it's no better about protecting user data from American companies and government entities. And despite a high percentage of readers agreeing with the call to ban TikTok, many agree that the U.S. needs to look at itself and consider adopting better data privacy laws to protect Americans.
Here are some comments from readers:
Judge Castle: "No. If anything, the US should follow China's lead and ask for a silo'd product in which all data lives in the US and that China HQ has no access to the data etc. Similar to how US companies have to handle China. I don't use the platform, I am more curious how this is handled."
Oskie Mignon: "If the US has "proof" of what they are claiming against TikTok then why haven't they pulled the plug? I think this is a Meta-backed initiative to eliminate healthy competition. I also know a handful of people who's business relies on TikTok, so no."
Mark Powell: "I would like to see the evidence they have without lobbyist interference of the data. I have yet to hear and see anything."
Tony Miller: "Banning Tiktok is just treating a symptom. First we need better data privacy laws enacted."
Kristian Noe: "I think we should start educating kids on privacy in school. Let them make their own decisions then. Maybe that way people realize TikTok isn’t the only social media invading our privacy and distributing our data."
Robb Radford: "Far more concerned about the information the NSA collects on it's own citizens then China"
Tina White: "Facebook has been caught doing WAY worse things with customer data and nobody seems to care about that at all."
