TikTok is a social media application that has recently swept the globe. The app has a huge global user base of over 1 billion active users, mainly among young people. However, it caused controversy and has even been outlawed in several nations. Why then do some nations forbid TikTok?
TikTok is being banned in various countries, among other reasons, due to worries over data security and privacy. ByteDance, a Chinese business that owns TikTok, has alarmed some nations with its potential for giving the Chinese government access to user data. India outlawed TikTok and several other Chinese applications in 2020, claiming worries about national security. These apps, according to the Indian government, “steal and covertly transmit users’ data in an unauthorized manner.” Given the escalating hostilities between China and India in recent years, the decision to ban TikTok was part of a larger trend of Indian nationalism and anti-Chinese sentiment.
On identical grounds, the US has also attempted to outlaw TikTok. Donald Trump, the previous president, signed an executive order in 2020 that would have prohibited TikTok from operating in the United States. According to the order, TikTok might be utilized by the Chinese government to gather information on US individuals and posed a threat to national security. After a court challenge, the prohibition was eventually suspended. Later, the prohibition was lifted by the Biden administration, but TikTok is still under fire for its handling of user data and security.
Concerns over improper content are another reason why several nations have banned TikTok. Users of the TikTok site can upload short films, which has raised worries that some of the content may not be suitable for all viewers. Because some users uploaded videos that were judged indecent and insulting in 2019, Indonesia briefly banned TikTok. Following TikTok’s agreement to delete the offensive information, the Indonesian authorities later lifted the ban.
Some nations are banning TikTok due to worries over political content in addition to issues over improper content. TikTok was briefly banned in Pakistan in 2020 after the app was charged with encouraging “immoral and obscene” material. TikTok has been used to criticize the Pakistani government and military, while some analysts think the ban was partly politically motivated.
It’s important to note that not all nations have banned TikTok. In fact, the application, known as Douyin in China, is still widely used in a number of nations throughout the world. In many nations, TikTok members share anything from dancing videos to political criticism, turning it into a cultural phenomenon.
Yet, some nations have taken action against TikTok due to worries about data privacy and security, improper content, and political content. While this is going on, TikTok needs to address concerns about its data security and privacy policies and take steps to make sure that unsuitable and politically charged content is not permitted on the platform.
In conclusion, TikTok has gained popularity across the globe as a social media tool, but it has also caused controversy and has been banned in several nations. Concerns about inappropriate content, data privacy and security, and political content have all prompted certain nations to take action against TikTok. It will be interesting to see how these problems are resolved if TikTok’s popularity increases and whether more nations decide to outlaw the app in the future.
