Through new ways of communication, job opportunities and entertainment, it can easily be said that social media has taken over society. Because of this, many countries are trying to balance social media and the well-being of their citizens. The United States, for one, has been welcoming of these platforms, including TikTok and Instagram, but new challenges arise as new management is stepping in.
TikTok, a social media platform where users upload and watch short videos as entertainment, is well-loved and used by over 170 million Americans. Over the years, the platform has faced many upsets, with risks of banning the app in the United States due to national security concerns while the app was owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech company. Since the threat of bans, many have spoken out because of how heavily the app is relied on for jobs and communication. In April 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, PAFACA, requiring ByteDance to sell the platform to its U.S. assets by the following January, or it would be banned. TikTok, however, has not been banned because ByteDance sold the platform, keeping it in American hands.
Mahi Patel (9) enjoys TikTok and hopes there won’t be major changes to the platform while being under new management.
“I enjoy the vast variety of entertaining to informative videos on TikTok. I don’t mind the app being bought by another company as long as there are no significant changes to the platform. I believe that this is an approach to allow users in the US to be able to continue to use TikTok and avoid having another ban,” Patel said.
While most TikTok fans who use the app for entertainment see this act as a victory, others are raising questions. Since being under new control, users are questioning their First Amendment right of freedom of speech. Like most social media platforms, there are restrictions as to what can be shared to create a child-safe environment; but some who use the platform as a news outlet are noticing restrictions for videos mentioning events occurring around the country, including protests or deaths. According to PBS.org, there have been many videos that are censored or taken down due to the content mentioning anything political or negative about the United States government. Some sources are calling this a glitch in the system while others are questioning the credibility of that statement.
Jacob Ward, a tech journalist and host of “The Rip Current” podcast, spoke during an interview with PBS and thinks every content creator feels under pressure recently.
“What I can say is that it seems as if every kind of creator trying to post content, whether they were cooks or makeup artists or political content creators, none of them could post for a while there. And so, it doesn’t seem like it’s specifically aimed at anything. But if you’re someone whose work is consistently something that speaks out against the government at the moment, then you’re going to feel particularly persecuted,” Ward said.
He continued to say that it might be too early to see what the new management is trying to accomplish to point fingers.
“So, at the moment, this doesn’t feel like it was an intentional piece of censorship. I think this ownership group is too newly in charge to make that kind of move. But that’s not to be confused with the idea that they couldn’t do that. I think the capability of doing so is incredibly powerful and worth watching,” Ward said.
Some users are linking these incidents to past situations involving social media account bans and politics, while others are enjoying the app. Despite the commotion the company switch has made, TikTok is still being used by many, with its influence still affecting the lives of many Americans around the country.
Wilson Moreno (12) delights in spending his time on TikTok but does not appreciate the change in his “For You Page” since the switch between companies.
“I like doomscrolling on TikTok and finding cool information on it. I think it is a little annoying because before, I enjoyed what was on my feed, now I have to start over,” Moreno said.
