Did you know Critics Call TikTok Ban a ‘Phobia,’ Urge Focus on Broader Big Tech Risks

 

We are just hours away from seeing the popular social media app TikTok banned in the US on the grounds of a threat to national security.

The Supreme Court shared its decision yesterday rejecting the company’s appeal to continue functioning in America. However, not everyone is on the same page when it comes to the ban.

Amnesty Tech’s Deputy Director says the dangers and harms that American lawmakers feel about TikTok is more of a phobia than anything else. She outright blasted the decision and also spoke about the risks and harms of big tech continuing to exist, even after the ban.

It seemed like she was more in favor of TikTok than Meta and Google whom she says continually pose a major threat to the country as well. She called the banning of TikTok a decision that went against human rights of freedom of expression.

Moreover, she added that the risks of data collection and algorithms exist on all social media apps and not only TikTok. While she agreed that the content put out on the ByteDance-owned platform was dangerous for the youth, she also highlighted how Meta had so much hate taking place.

This is why she urged the upcoming Trump administration to think twice before acting and focus more on the issue of big tech instead of single platforms. More focus should be on the business model designs of these apps that use sensitive data to produce an addictive interface.

On Friday, we saw the Supreme Court upholding the law that banned TikTok if it didn’t divest into the hands of an American buyer. The deadline is this Sunday but the company refuses to give in and made it very clear that this would not be possible.

In 2023, we saw Amnesty International share two reports that shared the great abuse that young minds go through after using TikTok. This includes emphasis on how it promotes self-harm and details about suicidal intentions.

As a whole, 19 countries have barred TikTok from functioning in some form. Eight of those made it illegal for both the government sector as well as the general public. The most noteworthy mention is India who spoke about the app banning it because it was not safe for the youth. Soon after that, it started to ban 59 more apps from China to stop the spread of Chinese influence in the country. The same was the case for Iran, Jordan, and Afghanistan.

 

 It’s interesting how the blanket of so many bans on TikTok is more prevalent in Asia than anywhere else. Officials spoke about how it was not clear if China can really extract data belonging to app users and use it for their own benefit or not but that’s a fear that the West has from the start.

Some also fear China’s emerging power and presence cannot be denied. Therefore, to stop its influence from spreading, the easy way out seems to be a ban.