Is A TikTok Ban Actually A Good Thing?
What started as a harmless app for dancing and lip-syncing videos has quickly devolved into a cesspool of e-begging, Temu dropshipping, and softcore porn. Now, with a potential ban looming on the horizon, it begs the question: would getting rid of TikTok actually be a good thing?
Not everything on TikTok is completely degenerate. It is one of the most effective marketing apps for musicians and small businesses, allows unfiltered journalism and news to spread globally, and provides a space for people to share ideas and information. However, the ever-dangling carrot of social media monetization has led some people down a dark path of doing and saying whatever it takes for money.
The United States isn’t the only country to propose a TikTok ban. Recently, Albania announced a year-long ban of the social media app following the fatal stabbing of a student, aiming to make schools safer. Australia has also approved a complete ban on social media for children under the age of 16. Naturally, TikTok is now doing damage control by shifting blame to other factors, including the broader decay of society—but isn’t some of that societal decline accelerated, at least in part, by apps like TikTok?
An argument could be made—and has been made—that TikTok is killing authenticity and personality. For many people, it has become a mental and emotional source of anxiety. With its incessant pushing of trends by an algorithm designed purely to drive users to purchase from its store or continue scrolling endlessly, TikTok seems less about connection and more about conversion. It’s a direct manifestation of the hyper-consumerist, late-stage capitalist society we currently live in.
Despite being a significant outlet for independent media and investigative journalism, TikTok is still primarily a marketing and shopping platform. There always have been and always will be independent news sources outside of TikTok, but that doesn’t mean the same audience will seek them out. TikTok’s power lies in its ability to introduce different viewpoints and opinions to a massive audience almost instantly. A perfect example is the ongoing genocide in Gaza, where TikTok served as an unfiltered source of news from those experiencing the violence firsthand, in contrast to the constant propaganda from mainstream sources. As silly as it may sound, TikTok has played a substantial role in "waking" people up to the reality that they are being lied to and manipulated by their own governments.
The truth is that TikTok is too massive of a platform to simply disappear. With an estimated 170 million monthly active users in the country, nearly a third of all American adults use the app. With a user base that large, it’s more than likely TikTok will be bought by a competing conglomerate. At this rate, I’d say there’s a 90% chance TikTok complies with the proposed agreement and a 10% chance it doesn’t, facing removal from all app stores. However, there’s always the possibility that, with a more conservative government in place, TikTok could be viewed as a foreign threat poisoning the minds of American youth and be eliminated in the name of national security.
At the end of the day, despite all its negative qualities—the brain rot, lolcows, body checks, and schizoposting—TikTok remains one of the only subversive and quasi-independent platforms where one can access unfiltered, unprogrammed real-time news. It has also provided small businesses and artists with access to a massive, free marketing channel reaching millions of users worldwide. As much as I hate to say it, banning TikTok would actually be a net negative for our individual freedoms.