TikTok is a viral app that has grasped the attention of 150 million Americans, a group that I’m sure many people on Emporia State’s campus fit into. Earlier last week there was a congressional hearing to question the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew. The hearing was meant to collect knowledge about American users’ data collection and storage along with potential issues with the app. However, what became abundantly clear during the four hour long hearing was that our representatives are painfully out of touch and TikTok is not the main issue.
While some members asked great questions related to censorship of minority groups and violence on the app, a majority of the hearing was filled with grandstanding and representatives fighting over who could get the better sound bite. There were a lot of congressional members interrupting Chew, “reclaiming my time” and blatantly calling Chew a liar. While this behavior should be unacceptable for our legislative members, it happens frequently in congressional hearings.
One thing that stood out to me was the lack of knowledge related to the app and how the internet works in general. House Representative Richard Hudson and his lack of knowledge of how Wi-Fi works or Buddy Carter not understanding how a face filter works. I understand that a large percentage of our congressional members are significantly older but this screams out of touch on a new level.
There is also the matter of social media data collection as a whole which is not heavily regulated. This was discussed on TikTok by North Carolina and New York Reps., Jeff Jackson and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Data collection and storage by social media are not regulated. This means that there’s a lot of uncertainty about how it’s used and for some people that strikes fear.
Whether the argument is for the safety of our kids or data security, this fear has been targeted at TikTok due to its foreign ownership but it is an issue across all platforms including domestic apps. For example, there was no congressional hearing when Twitch live-streamed the mass shooting in Buffalo. Instagram has been accused of boosting posts that feature women in swimsuits or in little clothing. Facebook is also guilty of spreading false news on its platform.
Much of the paranoia related to TikTok is the concern that China is reading and using our own data against us. However, this shouldn’t be a concern, especially after project Texas was introduced. This was a project to ensure data collected from Americans is stored on American soil and only American employees have access to the data. Also, frankly I don’t care, data collection is common. Who cares if China knows I like cooking videos and my taste in books? I’m also not the only one who thinks this, there are many videos on TikTok that share that same opinion.
While there are issues that need to be addressed in regard to social media, government bans and censorship is not the answer. 150 million Americans use TikTok, many of which to support their small businesses or churches. It is unnecessary to create all this fear and conflict pointed at TikTok.