The U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 on March 13, 2024 to require TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, to sell the app or face a nationwide ban. President Joe Biden said on March 8 that he would sign the legislation if it reached his desk.
The popular social media video app had 149 million users in the US as of January 2024. Many of them contacted Congress to protest the possibility of a ban.
The bill’s fate in the Senate is unclear. It is also unclear whether the resulting legislation would survive a lawsuit.
On May 17, 2023, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation banning TikTok in the state, the first outright ban by a U.S. state government. The law would impose fines of $10,000 per day on each app store that carries TikTok, and on the app maker itself if it operates in the state. Individual users would not be subject to sanctions. The law was set to take effect on January 1, 2024, but a federal judge blocked it pending a trial to determine whether the state overstepped its authority and whether the law violates the First Amendment.
The federal government, along with many state and foreign governments and some companies, has already banned TikTok on work-issued phones. This type of ban can be effective in protecting data related to government work.
But a complete national ban on the app is another matter, which raises a number of questions: What data privacy risk does TikTok pose? What could the Chinese government do with the data collected by the app? Is the content recommendation algorithm dangerous? Is it legal for a government to impose a total ban on the app? And is it even possible to ban an app?
Soaking up data
As a cybersecurity researcher, I’ve noticed that every few years a new, popular mobile app raises security, privacy, and data access issues.
Apps collect data for various reasons. Sometimes the data is used to improve the app for users. However, most apps collect data that the companies use in part to finance their operations. This revenue typically comes from targeting users with ads based on the data they collect. The questions this use of data raises are: Does the app need all this data? What does it do with the data? And how does it protect the data from others?
So what makes TikTok different from Pokemon-GO, Facebook or even your phone itself? TikTok’s privacy policy, which few people read, is a good place to start. Overall, the company is not particularly transparent about its practices. The document is too long to list all the data collected here, which should be a warning sign.
In addition to the information you provide when you create an account – name, age, username, password, language, email address, phone number, social media account details and profile image – there are some interesting things in TikTok’s privacy policy that are important are. This information includes location data, clipboard data, contact details, website tracking, plus any data you post and messages you send through the app. The company claims that current versions of the app do not collect GPS information from US users.
If most apps collect data, why are governments concerned about TikTok? First, they’re concerned about the Chinese government gaining access to data from TikTok’s 150 million users in the US. There are also concerns about the algorithms TikTok uses to serve content.
Data held by the Chinese government
If the data ends up in the hands of the Chinese government, the question is how it can use the data to its advantage. The government could share it with other companies in China to help them make profits, which is no different than American companies sharing marketing data. The Chinese government is known for playing the long game, and data is power, so if it collects data, it could take years to figure out how it benefits China.
A potential threat is that the Chinese government may use the data to spy on people, especially those who have access to valuable information. The Justice Department is investigating TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, for using the app to monitor American journalists. The Chinese government has an extensive history of hacking U.S. government agencies and companies, and much of that hacking has been facilitated through social engineering — the practice of using data about people to trick them into revealing more information.
The second issue raised by the US government is algorithm bias or algorithm manipulation. TikTok and most social media apps have algorithms designed to figure out a user’s interests and then tailor the content so the user continues to use the app. TikTok hasn’t shared its algorithm, so it’s not clear how the app chooses a user’s content.
The algorithm can be biased in such a way that a population is led to believe certain things. There are numerous accusations that TiKTok’s algorithm is biased and can amplify negative thoughts in younger users and be used to influence public opinion. It may be that the algorithm’s manipulative behavior is unintentional, but there are concerns that the Chinese government has used or could use the algorithm to influence people.
Can a government ban an app?
The upcoming law in Montana aims to use fines to force companies to enforce the ban. It’s not clear whether companies will comply, and it’s unlikely it will stop users from finding solutions.
In the meantime, if the federal government concludes that TikTok should be banned, is it even possible to ban it for all of its 149 million existing US users? Such a ban would likely start by blocking the distribution of the app through the Apple and Google app stores. This may turn many users off the platform, but there are other ways to download and install apps for people who are determined to use them.
A more drastic method would be to force Apple and Google to change their phones to prevent TikTok from running. While I am not a lawyer, I believe this effort would fail due to legal challenges, including First Amendment concerns. The bottom line is that an outright ban will be difficult to enforce.
There are also questions about how effective a ban would be even if it were possible. By some estimates, the Chinese government has already collected personal information on at least 80% of the US population through various means. So a ban could limit the damage to some extent, but the Chinese government has already collected a significant amount of data. The Chinese government – like anyone else with money – also has access to the vast market for personal data, fueling calls for stricter data privacy rules.
Are you at risk?
So should you be concerned as an average user? Again, it is unclear what data ByteDance collects and whether it could harm an individual. I believe that the greatest risks are for people in power, whether in political power or within a company. Their data and information can be used to gain access to other data or to potentially compromise the organizations they are associated with.
The aspect of TikTok that I find most concerning is the algorithm that determines which videos users see and how this could impact vulnerable groups, especially young people. Regardless of a ban, families need to have conversations about TikTok and other social media platforms and how they can harm mental health. These conversations should focus on how to determine if the app is leading you down an unhealthy path.
This is an updated version of an article originally published on March 23, 2023 and updated on May 18, 2023.
This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit organization providing facts and trusted analysis to help you understand our complex world. It was written by: Doug Jacobson, Iowa State University
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Doug Jacobson does not work for, consult with, own stock in, or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.