TikTok, a popular social media app, has been banned in India and might even be banned in the United States of America. 

“We’re certainly looking at [banning TikTok and many Chinese apps]” said Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.

TikTok, formerly known as Musical.ly, is a Chinese social media app that many people believe has direct ties to the Chinese government. It is rumored that by downloading and signing up for TikTok (and many Chinese apps), your personal information will be given to the Chinese government. Secretary Pompeo was asked during his interview on July 6, 2020, if it is safe to download TikTok and other Chinese apps, and he responded,

“Only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.” 

If TikTok does get banned in the USA, TikTok will lose one of it’s biggest user populations. TikTok’s largest user population was India at 119.3 million users (March 2020), however after India banned TikTok, the biggest population dropped to the USA at 39.6 million users (March 2020). 

TikTok has taken precautions to prove that they don’t have any ties to Chinese Communist party. Such as, “quitting Hong Kong” (BBC World News) and making sure to state they would not comply with the Chinese government if asked for personal information in the future. 

For safety reasons, many countries are thinking about banning the popular social media app. This thought could be terrifying for the workers of TikTok. Not only is TikTok struggling to carry on after losing India, their largest market, but they have a possibility of losing their second largest market, the United States of America. 

What is your take on this situation? Do you believe TikTok should be banned in the United States of America, or not?