Biden’s new social media policy takes hard line on app’s connection to China.

On April 24, President Joe Biden signed a bill that, among other things, would force the popular social media app TikTok to either cut ties with China or be banned in the U.S. Fearing the possibility of American data being misused by China, a deadline has been set for the platform’s ban. A 270-day countdown has been set that will end mid-January 2025. Unless TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, sells or transfers ownership of TikTok to a non-Chinese company, app stores in the United States will no longer legally be able to offer the app. Driven by fears of Chinese influence in American politics, this bill poses a strong threat to not only TikTok, but other Chinese platforms, as well.

The bill carrying the TikTok ban, H.R.815, contains many other things besides a TikTok ban. The bill provides aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan and aims to fight back against the current fentanyl epidemic by enacting sanctions against drug trafficking groups and people who distribute the chemicals needed to make the drug.

“This measure shows America is still a world leader, and I believe this aid will hasten the end of the wars in Israel and Ukraine,”  Sen. Ron Wyden said in a press release in late April. “I’m glad that this package also includes the bipartisan FEND OFF Fentanyl Act… Oregonians know that the addiction crisis in our country has reached unprecedented levels, and it’s high time that Congress crack down on illicit traffickers.” 

The part of the bill banning TikTok further extends to other social media platforms. The bill makes it unlawful to maintain, distribute, or update an application controlled by a “foreign adversary controlled application” in the United States. Once it has been determined that an application meets this description, Congress or the president can begin a 270-day countdown until it is banned. While aid to Ukraine and other allies has popular support, a ban on TikTok has not commanded the same enthusiasm.

 “Unlike our adversaries, we believe in freedom of speech and don’t ban social media platforms,” Rep. Val Hoyle declared in a statement on X. “Instead of this rushed bill, we need comprehensive data security legislation that protects all Americans.” 

Fears regarding American data being abused to influence politics are nothing new. The 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal shocked the nation after it was revealed that the personal data of millions of American Facebook users was illegally collected to benefit Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign. This brought to light the power that data, especially social media data, can have in influencing elections. TikTok, however, claims to have made great steps to protect American data from foreign influence. Their plan, Project Texas, aims on multiple fronts to make Americans feel safe on TikTok. Already, all U.S. user data has been transferred to an American cloud company, Oracle, and TikTok has partnered with American third-party companies to review TikTok’s data safety. 

“Rest assured, we aren’t going anywhere,” TikTok CEO Shou Chew confirmed in a TikTok video in response to the ban. “We are confident and we will keep fighting for your rights in the courts. The facts and the Constitution are on our side, and we expect to prevail again.” 

The events around TikTok show a growing understanding of the power that user data on social media holds, and while some see the bill as a way to better protect Americans, others see it as governmental overreach. For now, TikTok is staying; but the time bomb will continue to tick down.

By Oscar Guillemin