While Chinese-owned social media company TikTok has grown to have more than 150 million active users in the U.S. as of March 26, some politicians believe the app might be collecting information that could end up in the hands of the Chinese government.  

The Orange County Board of Supervisors declared on March 21 that TikTok will be banned on government-owned devices of all OC employees, following safety concerns of online security and data collection.

Sophie Janicke-Bowles, a professor at Chapman University’s School of Communication, believes that the ban comes as no surprise because of the government’s need to keep privacy. 

“We're not really having any transparency in what data specifically they're collecting or what they're doing with it as an end consumer, specifically, because of all the privacy language that you use, that's really hard to understand,” Janicke-Bowles said.

The app has built-in functions that can track user habits, according to Felix Kraus, a privacy researcher and former Google engineer. TikTok uses a third-party tracker to collect user information, which makes it difficult to know who is tracking user information and how it is being used, according to a study by URL Genius. 

The ban of TikTok on government-owned devices of OC employees was issued by OC Sheriff Don Barnes and Andrew Do, the vice chair for the OC Board of Supervisors. One of Barnes’ leading concerns is the app's owner, ByteDance, and their ability to use personal data to create personal profiles based on viewing history. 

The Chinese government has the authority to require company owners to report back any information that could pose a threat on national security. So far, there is no evidence that TikTok has shared information with the Chinese government. 

Niklas Myhr, also known as the “Social Media Professor” at Chapman, said that even though other social media apps use surveillance strategies, those of TikTok appear to be different. 

“TikTok rates are quite high in terms of vacuuming your phone in terms of behaviors and tracking impact pattern, way beyond the innocent information they might need to provide the service itself,” Myhr told The Panther. 

According to Myhr, there is anxiety and concern about content moderation on the app. 

“Many believe that the app might not just be used for good user experience, but also to intentionally try to increase or amplify content that Chinese politicians would like Americans to believe or see and (to) downplay other content that wouldn’t be adventurous for China politically,” Myhr said.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew appeared before the House of Representatives on March 23 for five hours in which he tried to ease the concerns of U.S. government officials. 

An argument against the app is the degree of surveillance and tracking, but Myhr points out that this is common across various social media platforms.  

“I question where it will go technically without also affecting other platforms,” Myhr told The Panther. “It will be a nightmare to put into motion if some people bring up the case of what China did to American platforms and why we should do the same to Chinese platforms.”

Chinese social media platforms have taken down posts made by official accounts of the U.S embassy in China, according to Forbes. TikTok is banned in China, yet they have an alternative version called Douyin.  

Douyin was created in 2016, a year before TikTok. It is owned by the same company, ByteDance, and it has a similar concept to TikTok, yet the apps have different guidelines, according to CNN. These guidelines include restriction on young users and censorship that follows the strict Chinese censorship guidelines. 

Even though China claims to offer its citizens freedom of the press, the Chinese government has control over the media. This gives them the power to get rid of any media that poses a harm on the country's political or economic interest. 

Barnes states that he hopes the ban on government-issued devices acts will spread awareness amongst residents that they need to be careful while using social media, according to a Government Technology article. 

In December 2022, the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” passed Congress. Federal agencies were given a deadline from the White House to delete TikTok by March 29. This is following a national security concern of the Chinese-owned app. 

The FBI and other officials have raised concerns at the possibility that TikTok's parent company ByteDance could share user information with the Chinese Government.

Some members of legislation have tried to impose a ban on TikTok for all users, yet influencers on the app have gone to Congress in an effort to lobby against the ban. 

Senior business major Mac Francini, who is working towards a minor in computer science, spends more than eight hours a week on TikTok.

“A lot of what makes people enjoy apps like TikTok is the fact that their data and personal experience is being curated based on their usage,” Francini told the Panther.

Francini believes that the ban is justifiable, yet that it is important to remember that every app has some sort of data collection. 

“It is always important to know that if you do not pay for a product, you are the product,” Francini said. 

Multiple universities Purdue University and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University have also taken action against users, banning access on the app while using on-campus wifi. 

Various schools in Texas banned the app in late January, but this did not stop students from using TikTok. Instead, they turned to using Virtual Private Networks or cellular reception in order to access it. 

“The average user on TikTok spends 90 minutes a day on the app,” Myhr said. “Obviously it is going to upset many, not just the influencers making a living on TikTok, but also users that use it as their Netflix, their entertainment channel.” 

Chew assured Congress during testimony that ByteDance is not owned by the Chinese government. He stated that TikTok is currently working on Project Texas: an effort to have American data fully on American soil. 

Project Texas would have TikTok controlled by TikTok U.S. Data Security Inc. rather than ByteDance. This new initiative is an attempt at addressing concerns of access to U.S. users' data. 

The distrust in TikTok — paired with recent events like the alleged Chinese spy balloons spotted in American airs earlier this year — brings up a discussion of Asian hate. Chew’s appearance in front of court has brought back a fear among Asian Americans of a rise in hate crimes, according to CNN. 

Some Asian Americans are still feeling the effects of Anti-Asian sentiments as a result of the pandemic. There has been a 177% rise in Asian American hate crimes since 2021, according to a report released by the California Department of Justice. 

Chew holds a degree from Harvard Business school and currently lives in Singapore with his family. The Senator of Arkansa — Tom Cotton — said that Chew should be banned from the U.S. following his testimony.