by Riley Blankenship

For the past few years, there has been a growing reputation of Congress attempting to ban the popular social media app TikTok. On March 13, the House of Representatives voted to ban the app with an overwhelming majority of 352 votes approving the bill to 52 opposing the bill. The bill will now move to the Senate which could take longer due to stalling.

Congressional leaders from both Democratic and Republican parties are stating that TikTok and its parent company, Byte Dance, are a major security risk for Americans, believing that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are spying on Americans’ phone data through TikTok. Some Republican lawmakers are endorsing conspiracy theories stating that TikTok, or as they refer to the app “Tiktak,” is interfering with the 2024 election by spreading propaganda to its users. With the TikTok banning bill passed, it would give Byte Dance 165 days to sell its company to an American entity. If they do not do this, TikTok will be removed from all app stores in the U.S.

TikTok is urging its 170 million users to call their local lawmakers to voice their opinion against the banning of the app. According to an article by Vox, lawmakers are frustrated, to say the least, in TikTok promoting this, to the point where lawmakers are rapidly shutting down their phone lines temporarily due to the mass quantity of users calling. Gen-Z and young voters are sharing their outrage directed at President Joe Biden as he expressed support for passing a bill related to the banning of TikTok that came across his desk. There is deep division on this possible ban as Americans are split on whether this goes against the first amendment right of free speech.

The Collegian had the opportunity to interview Jasmine Spero, a senior here at Greensboro College, to get her opinion on the possible ban. Spero stated, “I believe the ban is awful. If this ban goes into effect, it will give the government even more access to our data.”

I personally believe that TikTok should not be banned solely because if this bill is passed, what is it saying about the concept of free speech of this country?

On April 8, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell spoke to the floor, urging to speed up the TikTok banning bill and start the vote for it. According to an article by USA Today, McConnell heavily believes that the CCP is monitoring and spying on Americans’ phone data through TikTok, hence why he wants the bill to be sped up. With this swift urge, senate members are left to decide whether they want the bill moved up to vote on it.  As we draw nearer to the election, many young democratic voters are not pleased by this urge, believing that if the bill is passed, it could heavily change young voters’ minds on the possibility of Biden as their nominee.