Sarah McGaughy. TikTok standoff: China, ownership of the app, and why it's changing.

Why China having any ownership over the app is a problem for American users.

TikTok, the fifth most popular social media app known for its video content of all varieties, is now facing a possible breakup with the United States. Why? Because it is not the United States who owns it. TikTok is owned by a company called ByteDance, a Chinese based company. That alone poses a threat for American users. In the summer of 2023, Mississippi banned TikTok from the wifi of any state-owned devices. Meaning for users across the state, the only way to use it is when the wifi is off, and the data is on. When college students started making the connection as they returned to school in the fall, it resulted in a less that positive reaction because some students used the app as their outlet away from the stress of school and could not use it unless they had wifi. However, what college students and other American users who have it banned from their wifi failed to realize in the beginning, is that it is a matter of American safety, and that there is still a way we can get it back.

Rebecca Shannon, an IT Risk and Compliance Analyst for Mississippi State University and former Department of Defense staff, says that the specific reason for the app's ban on the wifi in Mississippi and at the Mississippi State is to prevent information leakage. "There have been a few risks and things like that that have happened on campuses and have information on the students getting out. And we don't want that abused by anyone else." Shannon said, "China's not just an economic competitor but a security concern as well". Shannon is referring to the security of private information that China has access to because of their ownership of the app. "It's concerning for U.S. citizens because it has been used in the past to spy on whereabouts, spy on trends, and like social media and stuff like that." Shannon further elaborates. "I mean it's out and open and you know, public knowledge so."

Because of this the United States Government has given China an ultimatum: either sell the app to a U.S. owned company, or risk being taken away from America and its app stores forever. The topic of TikTok being banned in America entirely is still controversial not just in relation to foreign politics, but the users who have grown fond of the platform. Even though there is an invasion of privacy that everyone is aware of does not mean users are willing to just part ways with it.

Shannon says there are still ways to help protect some privacy on the app. "There's that risk with any social media honestly. To do that safely I would say that kind of limit what you put on there." Does this solve the problem? Not entirely, but it provides at least a little bit of guidance while China makes its decision. As of recent developemt, Americans do not have to wait much longer on an answer like originally thought. In fact, the United States could have its answer in as short as the next nine months.

The morning of April 24th is when the ultimatum was put officially put into effect.

President Biden signed the Foreign Aid Package on this particular morning, which included TikTok. CNN released an article not long after, which quoted the President of the United States claiming that the package will help make the country safer. The news of this was excitinf for students at Mississippi State University. Callie Simonton, a Communications major with a concentration in Broadcasting and Digital Journalism and a minor in Political Science expressed her shock with the very recent update. She says that the amount of information that can be released through the platform is scary and that the information that America has that can be accessed through the app isn't just typical personal information. "The problem is that most of the information that lawmakers and intelligence agencies are concerned about is highly sensitive."

Other college students argue that they are not as concerned about it, because they just want to be able to use the app. In an article written by Bloomberg students and professors eloborate on why TikTok should stick around regardless of the risks.

"It is absolutely valid to feel angry about a platform being taken away." Simonton says. But she wants users to question if it is all worth it. "We have to consider the significant reasons why and ask ourselves if it's worth risking our national security and data for the sake of short-form enterainment."

So while a lot of students disagree with the potential bamd of TikTok, there are the few like Simonton who believe that it either needs to be exclusively American-owned, or banned from American entirely. "It may not be such a big deal if it was not a country with such a big rivalry to the United States, but China has proven to be a rising power that looks to challenge the United States in many ways. Looking at it from an adversarial point of view it is concerning that a possibly threatening country is in possession of over a hundred million Americans' data."

Now that America figuratively has put its foot down on foreign countries controlling social media apps that Americans use among other things, it all comes down to what China decides to do, and if they will atempt to hold their ground, or sell TikTok off.

Email me at skm473@msstate.edu with any questions