As the debate over a potential Jan. 19 TikTok ban in the United States intensifies, millions of users are preemptively flocking to another Chinese-owned app, sparking fresh concerns over data privacy and national security.
Meanwhile, lawmakers have urged a pause on the proposed ban to “assess the broader implications.” Chinese-owned RedNote has shot to No. 1 in the app store as TikTok users search for their new platform, deepening the divide over how to address foreign-owned social media platforms in the digital age.
Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-MA, addressed on the U.S. Senate floor the consequences of a TikTok ban and announced his plan to introduce new legislation, adding 270 days to the looming ban.
Markey said he understood the alarm and uncertainty around the ban and the inability to recreate the community users created through the platform.
“The stakes here are high. That’s why I will soon introduce the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act to extend the deadline by which ByteDance must sell TikTok or face a ban by an additional 270 days,” said Markey. “Let me be clear: TikTok has its problems. Like every social media platform, TikTok poses a serious risk to the privacy and mental health of our young people. I will continue to hold TikTok accountable for such behavior. But a TikTok ban would impose serious consequences on millions of Americans who depend on the app for social connections and their economic livelihood. We cannot allow that to happen.”
Backlash concerning government overreach has grown louder on the platform. Now, with five days left, some are mocking the ban.
Markey, Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY., and Congressman Ro Khanna, D-CA, recently submitted a bipartisan, bicameral amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reverse the D.C. Circuit Court’s decision in TikTok Inc. v. Garland, which upheld the ban.
The ban is being enforced by the bipartisan bill signed by outgoing President Joe Biden in April. The law mandates that the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, become American-owned, or face a ban in the United States, and permanently cut off its American users.
The TikTok ban remains uncertain as lawmakers and users remain divided over the implications and potential consequences for digital privacy, security, and free expression.
The Supreme Court is expected to have an answer regarding the ban this week.
