By The Spring 2025 Media Dilemma Students
Banning TikTok Is a Mistake
By Emily Ammon
Imagine waking up to find your favorite app, one that connects you with friends, entertains you, and even helps you earn a living, suddenly gone.
That’s exactly what could happen if the Supreme Court upholds a law that could ban TikTok in the U.S. as early as January 2025.
While national security is important, banning TikTok is not the solution. For one, the American people don’t want this.
A Pew Research survey found that only 32% of Americans support a TikTok ban, down from 50% in early 2023.
Young people, who make up the majority of TikTok’s users, are even more opposed 73% of Americans aged 13 to 39 say they don’t want the ban. TikTok isn’t just a fun distraction; it’s a tool for creativity, political action, and income.
Removing it would hurt millions of American people.
Those pushing for the ban argue that TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, poses a national security risk.
If we are really worried about data privacy, why aren’t we going after American tech companies that collect just as much, or even more, of our personal data?
As Teen Vogue said, “Concerns over data privacy are misleading, given that American companies frequently collect user data.”
Of course, national security matters.
Banning TikTok is a quick, shallow response that doesn’t address the real issue.
If we’re serious about data protection, we should be regulating all tech companies, not just the ones owned by foreign firms.
Is the TikTok ban for the greater good?
By Emma Bernatowicz
The app once known as musical.ly is now known to the world as TikTok. While this app has taken over the social media realm, there is talk of a complete TikTok ban.
Could this be for the greater good?
As of February of this year, the United States recorded 135.7 million TikTok users that are 18 years old and older.
According to a study done by California State University, “approximately 10 percent of Americans are addicted to social media.
With social media companies employing application strategies that provide feelings of instant gratification, using social media for an extended period of time can activate the same system seen in the brains of drug addicts.”
This is a shocking analogy, as a society we are accepting the same feelings that drugs are bringing humans as normal.
The instant gratification that social media gives people being equivalent to that of drugs is concerning.
The youth of America, the most impressionable people in our society, are becoming fully immersed into the world of social media.
Tik Tok has become one of the main forms of media, if not the only form of media consumed by teens.
An addiction to knowledge is not the issue, but social media is not just giving the users knowledge.
As stated above, there is an analogy between the gratification from social media as the same feelings produced by drug use.
While a think a TikTok ban might seem extreme to some people, there is greater good than harm that would come out of it.
Getting rid of TikTok would encourage people, especially young people, to expand their knowledge past this fast-paced social media.
A TikTok ban would not only eliminate a lot of where social media addiction falls, but it would also improve the attention span of people.
As people have become adapted to TikTok as their main form of media consumption, their overall attentions span has decreased hindering their ability to consume large volume media.
There will always be people that want this form of entertainment to stay, but that’s all it is and should be, entertainment.
To ban or not to ban has been the topic of conversation for some time now, and there will always be people on either side of the argument and in the middle.
If we truly want to consider the well-being of the next generation, the use of TikTok as a news source and main form of media needs to be addressed.
Social media in general is meant to be a form of entertainment and knowledge, so if TikTok is leading towards more social media addiction, a change needs to be made.
Banning TikTok Won’t Fix America’s Data Privacy Problem
By Ryan Butler
Banning TikTok won’t fix the larger issue: most social media platforms collect and sell user data with minimal regulation.
Lawmakers claim TikTok, owned by China-based company ByteDance, is a “national security threat”.
But if protecting our data is truly the goal, banning one app won’t cut it.
The real problem is that all social media platforms, including U.S.-based ones like Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), collect and sell massive amounts of user data with minimal regulation.
A 2023 Pew Research study found that 81% of U.S. adults are concerned about how companies use the data they collect about them, yet the U.S. still has no federal laws protecting user privacy.
In European countries they have a set regulation under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that holds all tech-companies accountable, no matter where they’re based.
Instead of banning TikTok, why aren’t lawmakers pushing for more robust data privacy law that, like Europe, forces every tech company to protect user information?
Supporters of the ban argue it’s about national security; but this could create a dangerous domino effect.
What happens when another foreign-owned app gains popularity here? Do we just keep banning them?
What does this mean for free speech and the American creators and small businesses that operate on TikTok?
If the U.S. government really cares about protecting our data, they need to stop singling out TikTok and start fixing the real problem with universal privacy laws.
Otherwise, this isn’t about security, it’s just politics.
TikTok on the Clock
By Lauren Deibert
Recent developments surrounding TikTok have surged debates about national security and the future of social media platforms in the United States.
In January 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order granting a 75-day extension for ByteDance, the company behind TikTok.
This extension therefore postponed the enforcement of a nationwide ban.
As a new April 5 deadline approaches, the urgency to address the multifaceted implications of this potential ban intensifies.
The enforcement of a TikTok ban presents a conundrum. On one hand, safeguarding our national security is of greatest importance; on the other, a ban could block free speech and disrupt the lives of many creators.
A survey by the New York Post indicated that 77% of Americans are uneasy about Chinese ownership of TikTok, evident of widespread concern.
Policymakers must prioritize a resolution that safeguards national security without compromising individual freedoms.
Moral claimants, including users and creators, should engage with legislators to emphasize the importance of a balanced approach.
Public advocacy for upfront solutions and data protection can influence a more consequential outcome.
The platform has entertained while also empowering users to share stories, advocate for causes, and build careers.
This highlights the need to cherish and protect spaces that foster creativity and connection worldwide.
As the deadline approaches, the TikTok situation serves as a pivotal moment to reflect on the complexities of technology within the government’s eye.
By pursuing a solution that addresses security concerns while upholding the values of free speech and expression, the United States can set a policy for managing foreign-owned platforms in such an interconnected world.
Ban of TikTok and How a College Girl Reacts
By Bryan Avanzato
The TikTok ban sent the world into a fluster and people didn’t know how they were to function. TikTok is something that can be as addictive as cocaine if not more.
TikTok is more than an app for some people.
Some people TikTok can be everything, and they will spend hours and hours on the app.
For some individuals TikTok being banned didn’t affect their lives. I had the chance to sit down with a fellow student and what she said was interesting.
“When TikTok was ban, I personally didn’t care. I am not a frequent user of the app” she proceeded to add “the reason I have the app is because my friends share videos with me, and I want to be able to see those videos”.
So, TikTok wasn’t everything for her.
Sitting down with my roommate he said “I am upset. I use this app for 2 hours a day and this makes me sad “.
TikTok is such a major part of his life but not of hers. How can we create a better, more peaceful way to keep TikTok up?
TikTok is Americas most used app and right now it is back on the app store courtesy of President Donald Trump.
He said that his son Barron is a major reason why he needed us to have the app in the app stores.
So, what’s next for TikTok?
Behind The Ban: The U.S Governments Offensive to Ban TikTok
By William Karwoski
The ongoing war between the U.S government and Tik Tok branches from concerns of national security, and data privacy issues.
The main point of this debate is that the parent company of TikTok, ByteDance is under Chinese ownership.
Which means is could possibly be pressed by the Chinese government to access and exploit private user data of American citizens which can be used for possible espionage and propaganda purposes.
“There is a major concern that the CCP could influence the user’s data on TikTok, suppress dissent, and disseminate disinformation” said the Center of Strategic & International Studies.
The main point of the government’s argument is that ByteDance’s obligations under the CCP laws can mean the possible sharing of user data of Americans with the Chinese government, which could be posing a national security risk.
This point of view is supported by U.S officials that states that TikTok’s data collection could be leveraged by the CCP for gathering intelligence.
The recent decision of the U.S Supreme Court reflects recognition of these possible concerns that threaten the country.
The Supreme Court upheld a legislation that requires ByteDance to sell its ownership of TikTok or face a ban of the platform in the U.S.
This emphasizes the interest the U.S government must snuff out and mitigate potential national security threats associated with foreign countries controlling platforms that collect a vast amount of U.S citizens data.
So, what does this all mean?
This means the government’s advocacy to ban TikTok is underpinned by the interplay of national security concerns over private data, and strategic positioning in the digital landscape of information.
This approach shows the challenges democracies face in attempting to regulate foreign digital platforms that operate across boundaries that are intercontinental, collecting a vast amount of private data, and can possibly serve as a tool for foreign polices to insert certain posts such as propaganda into American citizens feeds.
But for now, Trump has stopped the government’s efforts to ban TikTok until the 5th of April, so as the rush for ByteDance to sell TikTok’s ownership we’ll see where TikTok ends up in the near future.
