TikTok is no longer available in the Apple app store. Instead, Instagram and Facebook pop up as recommendations or replacements when searching for the extremely popular social media app. 

A law banning TikTok was put into place by the Biden Administration on Jan. 19, 2025. The app was determined to be a threat to the United States’ national security. A Chinese corporation, ByteDance, owns TikTok which gives the Chinese government access to millions of U.S. users’ data and power over the algorithms that pump out videos for consumers’ enjoyment. The U.S. government argued that TikTok was allowing China too much power and control over American citizens’ lives and minds. 

Concerns over TikTok and its relation to the Chinese government are not new. TikTok has been under pressure for over four years. Back in 2020, President Donald Trump pushed the ban of TikTok citing its national security risks. His efforts died in the courts. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols found that Trump’s reasons for banning TikTok were “arbitrary and capricious.” 

Now nearly five years later, Congress ruled that the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act be put into place. They argued that this act was for U.S. citizens’ protection and therefore supersedes any infringes it may have on our First Amendment rights. But what are they protecting Americans from and why is this protection no longer arbitrary or capricious? 

Gary Jefferson, the Carl Marks Professor of International Trade and Finance and senior research associate at Brandeis University, said in a Feb. 1 interview with The Justice that it’s like “throwing darts in the dark to say TikTok is the problem.” Jefferson has spent much of his career researching and writing about China’s economy. He has taught courses relating to the Chinese financial realm and economic innovation. Jefferson co-authors articles with colleagues located in China for publications such as China Economic Review. He believes the TikTok ban is a roundabout solution to a much greater problem. 

The fear surrounding TikTok originates from the idea that China could be infiltrating the algorithms of the app and inciting division and espionage within the United States. TikTok’s engineering team in Beijing released a document detailing the ways its algorithm collects data from users. Their algorithm prioritizes “retention” and “time spent” on the app. This means it looks at which videos keep the user’s attention for the longest amount of time and then analyzes the traits of that video. The sound, images, creator and other features of the video are collected and then used to educate the algorithm on what videos will keep the user scrolling. 

Jefferson claims, “all social media now embeds misinformation and distortion of truth and reality.” TikTok is not the only platform where misinformation is being spread. A report done by Pew Research Center found that 64% of American adults get their daily news from social media. 23% admitted to either knowingly or unknowingly sharing something that is false. Most Americans know that “fake news” exists on social media but not everyone knows it when they see it. TikTok’s algorithmic design runs the risk of promoting falsities because it is not pledged to truth. 

Jefferson points out that these dangers exist on all social media platforms. X, Facebook, Instagram and many others use algorithms that function very similarly to TikTok. They are all working to maintain viewer engagement, not to ensure their content is free of “fake news”. 

During the interview, Jefferson explained the difference between public vs. private goods. Private goods are the ones that can be marketed like computers, college tuition or shoes. Public goods are commodities that should have no market and exist for the good of the people such as clean air, clean water or public schools. Jefferson argues that a public good that needs protecting is truth. 

“Information is being defiled and contaminated in the same way the air has been,” he said. 

The U.S. government also cited the Chinese government’s collection of American users’ data as a reason to ban TikTok. The corporation that owns TikTok, ByteDance, resides within China. Under Chinese law, the government is permitted to take data from corporations in their domain. This means that data collected by TikTok and its algorithms could be harvested and analyzed by the Chinese government. 

Jefferson called these fears “very hypothetical and speculative.” In 2023 the U.S. government banned TikTok from devices used for federal means. These same precautions could be taken by media outlets and other organizations that prioritize privacy. Jefferson advocated for American users to have an educated choice on the matter. “In using social media you acknowledge and accept risks,” said Jefferson. 

Jefferson thinks “spies are wonderful, that it’s important that everyone has more information and accurate information.” Countries should know, “what their adversaries are doing so that they can suitably prepare.” He would be disappointed if the U.S. did not have the capability of gaining information about China through its own “surreptitious channels” because “that’s how governments work.” He believes that this exchange of knowledge allows the world to keep itself in check. 

So what problem is the U.S. “throwing darts in the dark” at? 

Over the last 10 years the American people’s trust in its government and media organizations has been faltering. A study done by Gallup found that in 2024, 33% of Americans have “not very much” confidence in the media and 36% have “none at all.” In 1976, 72% of Americans had a “great deal” of trust in mass media. Similar statistics can be said for the federal government. A study done by Pew Research Center found that in 2024 only 22% of Americans trusted the government to do “what is right most of the time.” In 1964, 70% of Americans reportedly trusted the government. 

As stated previously, 64% of Americans get their daily news from social media. Another 2024 Pew Research Center report found that one-third of U.S. adults were on TikTok and 59% of adults under 30 used the app. It is no surprise that a large portion of the U.S.’ young population is on the app and it seems that many of them could be getting news that shapes their opinions and political ideologies from untrustworthy sources. 

Could it be that the U.S. government is realizing the distrust the American people — especially the younger demographic — have in it and the media and becoming frightened by the power of foreign based apps like TikTok?

While there may be some merit to these fears, banning TikTok sets a new precedent for the U.S. Jefferson predicts this ban will “tarnish the positive image of the U.S. as being free and open to choice and expression” and be “injurious to the soft power of the US as a society.” Google has been banned in China since 2010. They instituted this law as a way to produce uniformity within the country and resist the spread of “misinformation” that could inspire uprisings. Jefferson says that with the TikTok ban instated, “nationalists in China would be able to say the US is no different, they ban anything that is not American.” 

With TikTok banned, other social media platforms are flooding with lost influencers looking for refuge. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and X will become outlets for consumers of social media. X is currently owned by Elon Musk who has just been given a role in the Trump Administration as a leading force in the “Department of Government Efficiency.” This department was previously known as the U.S. Digital Service. One must wonder if other countries are considering banning X in fear of U.S. surveillance?