The popular social media platform, TikTok, is accused of being a threat to national security, and this isn’t the first time. Privacy concerns affiliated with TikTok have been an ongoing issue. Former President Donald Trump, originally tried to just ban the app overall, but this didn’t work. So instead, about two years ago, the U.S. armed forces banned TikTok on all military devices. Recently, South Dakota, Texas, and Maryland have also banned the app on government issued devices. So far, the app has only been banned on these government devices and not on any devices meant for use by the general public in the U.S. But the public, especially younger people, may be at risk of having their data exposed by Tik Tok. 

  According to, TikTok Is a Huge Threat to Our Democracy and Our Kids. Ban It Now | Opinion, an article on Newsweek, Mark Weinstein says, “Here in the U.S., TikTok has approximately 100 million active users, and a third of those are 14 years old or younger. That means TikTok is collecting deeply personal information and biometric data on 30 to 40 million young children in America. This data is fed right into the hands of the Chinese government, which controls it for life.” These younger users are more vulnerable to having their information collected by the company. So far nothing has been done by US officials to help protect the public from this breach of privacy. This is important because innocent people don’t understand how much of their private information is being recorded by this app. If this much information is being taken from public users it is necessary that they are not misled into believing it is not. 

  Another article from KSL.com claims, “This isn’t about creative videos- this is about an app that is collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults everyday”. David Meyer says that “At its core, TikTok functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that w3harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data.” These highlight the reality of a seemingly innocent app that has a dangerous corporate side. You would think that after realizing TikTok is a threat to our citizens, immediate action would be taken, but there has been a great lack of response. The only precautions that have been taken are those to protect our government and their workers.

  According to NPR.org, the Biden administration is undergoing a National Security examination on the application just a couple years after the company was forced to mesh with Oracle to avoid being banned in the first place. This investigation will likely last for months and the results may be minimal but, in the end, this will decide the fate of TikTok.

  TikTok has become one of the largest and most influential platforms as well as so integrated into our society that banning it is very difficult. Although, when it becomes a risk to Americans, that’s when action must be taken. If it really is such a big safety issue, why isn’t it banned to the public yet?

Technically, there is not much information to back up the fact that TikTok is a threat, it’s more of a what if situation. With not much evidence, there’s not much to do about it. 

  Most likely, TikTok will not be taken away from the public and the ban will remain for government employees unless the National Security examination proves a legitimate threat.