President Biden signed a bill on April 23 that would effectively ban TikTok within the next year, unless the Chinese company that owns it, ByteDance, sells it to an American-based company. The ratification of the bill and introduction of it as law has raised concerns in many communities, from those who scroll on the app to fill time to those who use it for business promotion. 

   This poses an argument between the two sides: for or against the ban. Some parents and psychologists worry about the effects on their children’s attention span due to the addictive nature of the app and want it gone. There is also the American government, which argues that there is the possibility of the Chinese government using the app to collect data on U.S. citizens and spread pro-China propaganda. On the other hand, there are the influencers and business owners who use the app as a tool to gain a profit. 

  The main argument used against the ban is that it goes against the First Amendment rights to speech and to peaceably assemble. While TikTok is owned by a China-based company, over 150 million Americans are avid users. This app serves as an expansive platform for connection and communication, crossing the borders of land, language, and class. The restriction can be seen as a restriction to autonomy, speech, and community, as it would take away the platform that millions of people use daily. 

   Influencers on the platform are opposing the ban, as it would be taking away their jobs and income. In 2023, TikTok made the U.S. billions of dollars by taxing the small businesses that use the app for income. Because of the app, 70,000 jobs were introduced in the U.S. as well. 

  The main argument for the ban is motivated by the thought that China is collecting sensitive information about the U.S. through the Americans who use the app. It is also an invasion of privacy. They consider the app to be a threat to national security because of the mismanagement and malpractice of the data ByteDance holds from Americans who use TikTok. The company has been known to sell the data of users to other Chinese third parties that are not as regulated or as trusted. Users don’t know where their data is going and are worried that the app is harmful. 

  TikTok’s fate is in the hands of ByteDance. They have nine months to either sell the app, make a legal case against the U.S. to resist, or keep the app and lose over 250 million users in the U.S. Influencers and TikTok enjoyers won’t go out without a fight, and the U.S. Government won’t back down, as the bill was signed into law. The fate of TikTok will unfold within the next few months.