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The worrying possibility of a United States-wide ban on TikTok is becoming ever more real, as a bill that could lead to its ban officially becomes law.
President Biden signed that bill, which was attached to a necessary aid package for Ukraine, in late April, potentially signing the app’s state-side death warrant. Its a devastating move for the many denizens of the video-sharing app, and one that guarantees widespread pushback over the nine months that separate us from its potential enactment.
TikTok should not be banned in the U.S. — here’s why
I could go on for pages listing the many things that TikTok provides to its user base, but there are a few specific services the app provides that make excellent arguments for why it should remain. There’s no denying the sheer popularity of the app — which is used by more than 1 billion users on a monthly basis — nor its widespread effects, but TikTok is more than just entertainment.
Freedom of speech
The first of my points revolves around a vital American right: Freedom of speech. Its enshrined in our very first amendment, and snatching TikTok away from its many users would infringe on this right.
Not enough to argue in court, most likely, but certainly more than enough to affect a huge number of American citizens. People who don’t frequent the app may not realize how diverse its user base is, but TikTok provides a vital service to a huge number of people. Its how silenced protesters get the word out about massive scandals, hidden retaliation, or niche news topics, and its how a huge number of young people educate themselves on the various goings-on in the world.
Its also how people tell their stories. Its where a massive number of people go, every single day, to simply feel heard. That, all by itself, is ever-necessary in our increasingly isolated world, and lawmakers can bet they’ll be adding to our isolation by robbing us of this communicative platform.
An educational platform
That’s on top of the genuinely far-reaching educational attributes of TikTok. I’ll always advocate for finding additional sources outside of the app — you never know for sure what, or who, to believe — but there’s no denying how many people get their information from TikTok. What could become an obsession, a future career, or a dedicated project often starts on TikTok, a platform that provides people access to information they never would have found otherwise.
There are people that go to TikTok exclusively to educate their peers on necessary happenings. TikTok accounts discuss global issues like the rampant starvation in Gaza, educational topics like history, politics, and geography, or cultural subjects relating, often, to traditions, religions, and customs that people outside TikTok’s sphere of influence may have never learned without it.
The economy
Then there’s the financial impact of removing state-side access to TikTok. A huge number of people make money on the platform, and some people even make all their money on TikTok. They’ve built their livelihood around the app, and without it they’ll be left in the cold.
It takes creativity, work, and a whole lot of dedication to make a platform like TikTok lucrative, and the people who make money on the site aren’t sure what the future holds with the ban looming over them. Not only will this ban put tens of thousands of people out of work, or at least limit their incomes, but it will also strip an estimated $24 billion from the U.S. economy on an annual basis.
As noted above, there are plenty of additional arguments to be made in TikTok’s favor, but this is among the most pressing, in my eyes. Yes, some people make an entire career out of TikTok, and banning it would rob them of a job, and the knowledge we gain from TikTok should not be discounted, but I genuinely feel like the loss of the community would be the biggest blow.
There are a lot of lost people in this world. Many of them are desperately searching for any sense of community, and all of them can find that online. The issue is where. Many of the people who’ve found a community on some of the web’s more toxic platforms — looking at you 4chan — have been indoctrinated and radicalized. That’s not a common occurrence on TikTok.
There’s an argument to be made for TikTok’s relative youth, when compared to sites like Reddit, but there’s also one to be made for its more wholesome nature. Sure, bad people exist on the app, but they’re so drowned out by the positive voices they’re hard to track down.
There is a community for any kind of person on TikTok. Niche interests like puppeteering, princessing (yes, that’s a thing), coin collecting, or extremely dedicated scheduling all have a home on TikTok, and that home leaves its doors wide open. In the process it invites in other, like minded folks who may need a friend with whom to share those interests. When we have people at our side, psychology proves we are more stable, more happy, and more interested in helping others. Its a balm on our isolated souls.
This reason, all on its own, should be enough of an argument to keep TikTok around. In a country facing increasing polarization, frequent suicide, and horrifying gun violence, feeling less alone can literally save lives. We need apps like TikTok to make us feel connected, and without it people will scatter to the winds. Some will find real-world communities that, while perhaps less satisfying, still fill the seclusion hole, some will retreat within themselves, and some will find other communities. And if those communities turn them into extremists, or incels, or conspiracy theorists, we’ll all know who to blame in the long run.