Tiktok is an app where creators can post short edited videos up to a minute long. Pictured above is the app loading screen. (Photo courtesy of chesnot/getty images)
In late July 2020, Donald Trump, President of the United States announced that the popular social media app “Tiktok” may potentially be banned in the United States.
Tiktok is a social media app that allows users to create and upload short edited videos. On July 31, he announced on television that, “as far as TikTok is concerned, we are banning them from…the United States…I will sign the document tomorrow.” Needless to say, everyone from the Tiktok owners to users themselves were very surprised.
Trump accuses Tiktok of privacy violations and stealing data from users. Steve Huffman (Reddit CEO) said, “I look at that app as so fundamentally parasitic, that it’s always listening, the fingerprinting technology they use is truly terrifying, and I could not bring myself to install an app like that on my phone.”
Tiktok’s users were not happy about this to say the least. They claimed that “these are baseless accusations made without a shred of evidence”; meaning that the president lacks evidence about what TikTok may be doing to the public.
Creators and influencers who earned fame on the app now worry about their future. Morgan Eckroth, known as @morgandrinkscoffee said, “it’s my first time, kind of, building a platform for myself that’s turned into something that’s led to me being like, kind of, a micro-public figure.” Charli D’amelio, who has over 70 million followers on Tiktok, has fans worried. User @hemu0919 wrote this comment on one of her videos, “What is Charli gonna do.”
Not only that but others who simply just enjoy watching these videos to pass time will miss the app too. Ivy, a Leesville freshman, wrote, “But without it I’d probably just play more games or something.”
Banning Tiktok would affect creators, viewers, and the users themselves in a negative way.
Hi! My name is Isabel and I am a staff writer for The Mycenaean. I am also a member of Leesville’s Math Club.
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