What a Tiktok ban in the U.S. could mean if measure actually takes effect
WASHINGTON — After years of attempts to ban the Chinese-owned app, including by former President Donald Trump, a measure to outlaw the popular video-sharing app has been signed into law by President Biden. The measure gives Beijing-based parent company Bytedance nine months to sell the company, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress. If it doesn’t, Tiktok will be banned.
So what does this mean for you, a Tiktok user, or perhaps the parent of a Tiktok user?
What if I already downloaded it?
Tiktok, which is used by more than 170 million Americans, most likely won’t disappear from your phone even if an eventual ban does take effect. But it would disappear from Apple and Google’s app stores, which means users won’t be able to download it. This would also mean that Tiktok wouldn’t be able to send updates, security patches and bug fixes, and over time the app would likely
become unusable — not to mention a security risk.
Workarounds?
Dodging the U.S. government’s ban is certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Users could try to mask their location using a VPN, or virtual private network, use alternative app stores or even install a foreign SIM card into their phone.
But some tech savvy is required, and it’s not clear what will and won’t work. More likely, users will migrate to another platform — such as Instagram, which has a Tiktok-like feature called Reels, or Youtube, which has incorporated vertical short videos in its feed to try to compete with Tiktok.
Should I be worried?
Any worry stems from Chinese national security laws that compel organizations to assist with intelligence gathering — which Bytedance would likely be subject to. Data privacy experts say, though, the Chinese could easily get information on Americans in other ways, including through commercial data brokers that sell or rent personal information.