What the Tech: Consumer advocate talks potential TikTok ban
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - President Biden, on Wednesday, signed a bill that contains a potential ban on the social media network TikTok.
The bill states that TikTok has nine months to divest itself from China and that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, sells the platform to another company.
If a sale is agreed to, the bill allows for an extra three months before a ban goes into effect.
So the clock is officially ticking for TikTok. As you’ve likely heard, the primary concern revolves around data.
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, and there are fears that the Chinese government could demand access to information—especially from U.S. s.
While many people believe a ban will not survive reviews and lawsuits, consumer advocate Stephen Kent of the non-partisan non-profit group Consumer Choice Center says, this time may be TikTok’s last stand in the United States.
“What we really don’t know, as consumers and American citizens is, what else has Congress determined,” Kent wonders. “It says there’s something bigger here that we don’t understand or know about in the realm of private citizens.”
TikTok argues that a ban would violate Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment, which is an argument that proved successful when Montana tried to ban TikTok over a year ago.
Kent says it won’t be the reason a ban could be enacted this time.
“Free speech exists in this country. That is why the proper way to go after TikTok is on data privacy and security. It’s kind of like a mobster. If you can’t get them on murder, you get them on tax evasion,” Kent said from his office in Washington DC.
Some argue correctly that our private information is widely available—sometimes more than we realize and that the Chinese government could access that information from many sources.
Kent says information gathered by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance goes beyond the basics of name, address, and personal information. “Biometric data ranging from fingerprints to eyes to voice patterns and speech.
And then there’s just the backdoors that TikTok provides through its agreement to all manners of apps on the phone,” he said. “Basically, TikTok serves as a backdoor for everything else going on with your phone. That concludes your photos, videos, and any sensitive zip folders that you have. All sorts of things that the Chinese government is given access to.”
TikTok has denied sharing information with the Chinese government and says it never will. Kent isn’t so sure and if the Chinese government demands TikTok turn over that information he doesn’t believe TikTok would have any other choice.
“I see this playing out, personally, that a year from now TikTok will not be in operation in the United States.” And the reason, Kent says, “is because ByteDance is not a good faith profit-driven company.”
When former President Trump signed an executive order to force ByteDance to divest itself of China, the company did enter talks with Oracle and Microsoft but a deal was not made before a judge overturned the executive order.
Kent said there are several people and companies interested in purchasing TikTok but he doesn’t believe ByteDance will sell. “A good faith profit-driven company would find a buyer and cash out and sell. But ByteDance is an intelligence gathering operation and they are not going to sell their intelligence gathering tool to another buyer.”
Apple, the tech giant known for its stringent app store policies, has banned several apps—most notably, Fortnite. However, these bans were related to revenue sharing, not government orders. So, what happens if TikTok faces a similar fate?
If it’s banned, the app won’t immediately vanish from your phone. You won’t be breaking the law by keeping it. But new s will be off the table. And as operating systems evolve, TikTok’s functionality will fade away.
This saga is far from over. The battle between privacy, national security, and corporate interests will continue. ByteDance’s fate hangs in the balance, and the clock keeps ticking.
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