Should Tiktok be banned in the U.S.?

For Southern Californians of a certain age — let’s call it the newspaper-reading age — Tiktok may be more of a concept than an actual social-media experience.

Something we might hear the grandchildren talking about, rather than an online space we have actually inhabited ourselves. But most of us do know that it is a short-form video hosting service. The videos it features are submitted by users. It’s one of the world’s most popular websites. And it’s based in China.

That latter fact is at the heart of efforts by lawmakers in the United States and Europe to restrict access to Tiktok. A year ago, the Biden White House banned the app from government devices.

The fear is that the company’s ownership in China would share its voluminous data on its users with the Chinese government. And this month the House Energy and Commerce Committee forwarded a bill that says Tiktok must cut ties with its parent company within six months or face a ban in the United States.

Do you agree with that legislation? That’s our Question of the Week for readers.

How worried are you about the government in Beijing gathering demographic and other information on Americans through Tiktok? If most Tiktok users are quite young, what would China do with the data? If Tiktok is a problem, does that mean that the American-owned social sites are not? Are you also worried about all the information Facebook — and the other Meta platforms such as Instagram and Whatsapp — Google and Amazon are gathering on not just Americans but users all over the world?

Whatever the general concerns about social media and privacy, it’s known that Chinese law does allow its government to secretly demand data from Chinese private companies. But are you also worried that China could be manipulating Tiktok’s content recommendations for propagandistic purposes and the spread of misinformation? Some lawmakers say Tiktok is helping fuel antisemitism during the Gaza war, for instance. Should Tiktok be banned in the U.S. unless it splits from its Chinese ownership?

Email your thoughts to opinion@scng.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number (it will not be published).