Countdown for TikTok

TikTok, the short-form video social media company owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, has garnered significant popularity in recent years, amassing over 1 billion active users worldwide and surpassing Google as the most popular domain in 2021, according to data from Cloudflare. But TikTok’s Chinese ownership has concerned U.S. lawmakers. Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have raised alarms over ByteDance, which critics say has previously censored content at the behest of the Chinese government (claims TikTok representatives have denied). As China’s 2017 social media law requires companies to turn over any personal data relevant to national security, many fear that China will have easy access to Americans’ browsing history, location, and biometric information. As such, U.S. officials have engaged in fierce debate over how to counter China’s influence, from forcing the transfer of TikTok’s ownership, to banning the platform outright. In May 2023, Montana became the first state to ban TikTok, though the platform swiftly filed a federal lawsuit to block the ban. Bipartisan bans and restrictions have been suggested on the federal level as well, warranting heated debates, both in the government and civil society. Concerns related to Chinese surveillance and propaganda, as well as the potential for theft of state intellectual property, continue to mount. 

• Why the U.S. and Other Countries Want to Ban or Restrict TikTok, Time, March 16, 2023
• TikTok and the First Amendment, Center for Strategic and International Studies, November 14, 2022
• U.S. Threatens Ban if TikTok’s Chinese Owners Don’t Sell Stakes, The Wall Street Journal, March 15, 2023 
• Why TikTok’s security risks keep raising fears, The Associated Press, March 16, 2023
• Why a ban on TikTok won’t solve all data privacy concerns, PBS, March 30, 2023
• Why Countries Are Trying to Ban TikTok, The New York Times, May 18, 2023
• PEN America condemns Montana bill banning TikTok as a risk to free expression online, PEN America, April 17, 2023. 

• Montana governor signs bill entirely banning TikTok, federal lawsuit follows – May 2023
• Facebook hires GOP consulting firm in DC area to smear rival TikTok – April 2022
• Local school board member on Cape Cod, fired from teaching job over TikTok posts, files Free Speech lawsuit – November 2021
• Trump signs executive orders to ban Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat from United States – August 2020

• Here are the countries that have bans on TikTok, The Associated Press, April 4, 2023
• UK bans TikTok on government phones on security grounds, The Associated Press, March 16, 2023
• EU bans TikTok from official devices across all three government institutions, CNN, March 1, 2023
• India Banned TikTok In 2020. TikTok Still Has Access To Years Of Indians’ Data, Forbes, Mar 21, 2023
• Disinformation Campaigns Against Women Are a National Security Threat, New Study Finds, Time, February 21, 2023
• By more than two-to-one, Americans support U.S. government banning TikTok, Pew Research, March 21, 2023

• Two New Bills on TikTok and Beyond: The DATA Act and RESTRICT Act, Lawfare, March 23, 2023
• Senate Bill 686 – Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act
• Under SB 686, the Secretary of Commerce, under Presidential orders, would have the power to restrict or ban digital products and services from countries labeled as foreign adversaries.
• RESTRICT Act Explained: proposed TikTok ban is ‘a PATRIOT Act for the digital age,’ some lawmakers say, Insider, April 23, 2023

Arguments supporting the RESTRICT Act:

• Statement from National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan
• Statement from Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), a sponsor of the RESTRICT Act

Arguments against the RESTRICT Act:

• The ‘Insanely Broad’ RESTRICT Act Could Ban Much More Than Just TikTok, Vice, March 29, 2023
• The RESTRICT Act’s vague and overbroad language is a threat to a free and open internet, FIRE, April 4, 2023
• Republicans are starting to split over exactly how — and whether — to ban TikTok, Business Insider, March 30, 2023

• House Resolution 1153 – the Deterring America’s Technological Adversaries Act (DATA Act)
• Under HB 1153, the President has broader authority to block the transaction of Americans’ “sensitive data” where there are national security concerns.
• A GOP plan to ban TikTok nationwide advances out of committee, The Verge, March 1, 202
• House panel votes to advance bill empowering Biden to ban TikTok, CNN, March 1, 2023

Arguments supporting the DATA Act:

• Kevin McCarthy says House ‘will be moving forward’ with TikTok legislation, NBC, March 27, 202
• McCaul on H.R. 1153: “It’s Time to Put an End to the Hostile Efforts of the CCP to Exploit Americans and Their Personal Privacy” House Foreign Affairs Committee, March 1, 2023

Arguments against the DATA Act:

• Statement from TikTok
• Statement from the ACLU

• TikTok CEO Testifies at House Energy and Commerce Committee Hearing, C-SPAN, March 23, 2023
• Key takeaways from TikTok hearing in Congress – and the uncertain road ahead, The Guardian, March 23, 2023
• TikTok congressional hearing: CEO Shou Zi Chew grilled by US lawmakers, Reuters, March 24, 2023
• Opinion | The truly revealing TikTok hearing was the one that featured Uyghurs, The Washington Post, March 29, 2023
• TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew: 3 things to know, The Associated Press, March 23. 2023
• House lawmakers deeply concerned over TikTok despite CEO’s testimony, CBS, March 23, 2023

• Here’s a full list of the US states that have introduced full or partial TikTok bans on government devices over mounting security concerns, Insider, January 15, 2023
• Auburn Banned TikTok, and Students Can’t Stop Talking About It, The New York Times, January 15, 2023
• Montana TikTok ban is first passed by any US state, BBC, April 15, 2023
• TikTok sues Montana after state bans app, Reuters, May 23, 2023
• TikTok CEO Calls Montana Ban On The App ‘Unconstitutional’, Forbes, May 23, 2023
• These lawmakers say Montana’s TikTok ban likely won’t stick, The Washington Post, May 23, 2023

• Why 4 in 5 Americans believe that TikTok poses a national security threat, The New York Post, May 15, 2023
• Is the Government Tracking Your Social Media Activity?, ACLU, April 24, 2023
• TikTok shows why social media companies need more regulation, Brookings, May 11, 2023
• Transparency is essential for effective social media regulation, Brookings, Nov 1, 2022

• There’s a Problem With Banning TikTok. It’s Called the First Amendment, New York Times, March 24, 2023
• Of Course We Should Ban TikTok. It’s About National Security, Not Free Speech, Newsweek, May 26, 2023
• No evidence of TikTok national security threat but reason for concern, experts say, ABC, March 28, 2023
• Leaders Say TikTok Is Potential Cybersecurity Risk to U.S., Department of Defense, April 6, 2023
• TikTok Is Not a National Security Threat, Reason, Jan 26, 2023
• FBI chief says TikTok ‘screams’ of US national security concerns, Reuters, March 9, 2023

1. How can the U.S. address national security concerns regarding TikTok without infringing upon digital freedom of speech? What types of policies could achieve this balance?
2. In what ways do U.S. standards of digital Free Speech influence international technology and social media companies?
3. To what extent are U.S. digital speech standards internationally enforceable? Should they be enforced?
4. Is privacy a legitimate justification to limit certain types of online speech? How have privacy justifications shaped other First Amendment debates?
5. What can we learn from other countries that have enacted TikTok restrictions? Have countries that have banned TikTok, such as India, achieved their goals? As a result, how have Free Speech and governance been impacted?
6. To what extent are the RESTRICT Act and DATA Act constitutional? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
7. What other national security threats do social media companies pose? What actions can or should be taken to address these concerns?

Click on these themes below: Social Media + National Security

Discuss: What does this confluence of stories with these filters tell us about Free Speech issues surrounding digital speech and challenges to national security? How do the themes of these stories apply to the TikTok debate?