By Noah Brasseur
A bill proposed by Sen. Marco Rubio in the Senate would ban anyone from using TikTok in the United States.
The bill, known as the “ANTI-SCOCIAL CCP Act,” would ”protect Americans by blocking and prohibiting all transactions from any social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern,” according to Rubio’s website.
A companion bill was introduced into the House of Representatives by Rep. Mike Gallagher and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi.
This is not the first time the U.S. would prohibit TikTok in some way. On Dec. 29, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which included a clause that banned the popular app from being used on government devices. Exceptions were included for those who obtain proper authorization.
The reasoning for the ban was threats to national security. Officials were concerned the Chinese government may be collecting personal information of American civilians for use in intelligence gathering or to spread disinformation and disorder.
Delta College students had mixed reactions towards the rationale.
“I mean, I could see how it could happen,” said student Jeremiah Iseler. “But I don’t see how it could be the main reason that they’d want it..
“I believe it, because people put everything out there,” said Zoe Bender, another student. She later continued, “I mean there’s definitely some things that go on on it [the app] that shouldn’t be allowed but I think it is a helpful community platform. There’s some videos, like I’m really into the cooking videos, so I use those at home.”
The idea of TikTok being used as a helpful place was shared by other students as well. Talitha Martin said she uses TikTok a lot, both for fun and for educational purposes.
Time use varied wildly on the service. Some, like Iseler, had dropped it entirely, citing the amount of time it took up in a day. Others were closer to Bender, who said she spent up to four hours scrolling.
As for reactions to the proposed full ban’s potential passing, many were simply indifferent to the idea.
“I can’t say I’m either way,” Iseler said. “Not really against it, not really for it.”
Similarly, while Martin said she did not support a full ban, she “probably wouldn’t care.”
Everyone did have strong opinions on one matter though; all believed that, should TikTok be banned, a new app would simply replace the niche it had filled.
Bender gave a simpler answer saying, “Oh, yeah.”
“You already got YouTube and Instagram and everything else,” Iseler said. “All have their own versions of TikTok.”
Check out the recent (WO)man on the Street where the Collegiate talks to Delta College students on the topic of the possible TikTok ban.