TikTok – you either love it or hate it.
The boredom that comes along with quarantine has once again caused TikTok’s popularity to skyrocket, with more users sharing their little bite-sized videos to the app.
But not everyone likes them.
If you’ve ever found yourself wishing TikTok could be banned and disappeared so you never have to see any of those cringy videos or hear overrated pop songs that were transformed into trending dances ever again, then you have something in common with the President of the United States.
Yep, Donald Trump wants to ban TikTok too, but for reasons other than annoying teenyboppers.
What Exactly Is TikTok?
Owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based tech company, TikTok started off as a Chinese app, Douyin, before making its way out into the world.
However, many have brought up the privacy concerns regarding TikTok, with politicians believing that the app could steal data about America and other countries, leaving these potentially sensitive data in the hands of the Chinese government.
Speculations about the Chinese government using TikTok as a way to survey the entire world have filled the Internet, with cybersecurity analysts from Proton Mail warning people about TikTok’s dangerous data collection methods, citing latest discoveries as proof.
In an interview on 6th July, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also fuelled the allegations that TikTok collects data for the Chinese government, responding that one should download the app “only if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Why Does Trump Want To Ban TikTok?
Countries such as India have taken the potential threat to security seriously, with them banning over 59 different Chinese apps, including TikTok, back in July.
Australia was also allegedly thinking of banning the app but has since held back, stating that caution should be exercised instead.
Trump might have been feeling FOMO, for the US Administration also announced a day after Pompeo’s allegations that the US is considering the ban of TikTok as well.
However, contrary to what you might think, the main reason for him wanting to ban TikTok isn’t just because of the potential security threat it poses to the US.
It’s because of the coronavirus.
Yep, you read that right.
Trump said that of the many ways they are looking to “get back” at the Chinese government for the coronavirus, banning TikTok is just one of it.
“Look, what happened with China with this virus, what they’ve done to this country and to the entire world, is disgraceful,” he commented.