Is TikTok Leaving the US?
- fionacsweet
- Jul 7, 2020
- 2 min read
I am sure that everyone has heard of the app TikTok. Basically, it's an app where anyone can post short (15 to 60 second) videos of whatever, as long as you don't violate community guidelines. (If you post anything inappropriate, the video will be taken down.) It has increased in popularity since the beginning of this quarantine, as people needed something to do in all of their new free time.
Anyways, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the White House is looking at removing Chinese apps from American phones. TikTok is one of the big apps that they are looking at removing. Pompeo said this: "With respect to Chinese apps on people's cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too, Laura. I don't want to get out in front of the President [Donald Trump], but it's something we're looking at." Washington's top diplomat also stated that one should only get the app"if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party."
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement after Pompeo's comments that TikTok is led by an American CEO and that they have never provided user data to the Chinese government, and would not even if they were asked. While TikTok is owned by Beijing-based startup ByteDance, TikTok has said previously that it operates separately from the startup, its data centers are located entirely outside of China, and that none of that data is subject to Chinese law.
I know that many of my peers use this app as a way to connect with their friends and have fun. Personally, this app has been a lifesaver for shelter-in-place. It gives me something to do. People have the ability to spread their music on the app, and others use it to spread positive thoughts to others. It is simply a way to be creative from inside your own home. I would be very sad to see this app go.
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