Ban TikTok?

The University of Wisconsin system joins other universities in the US to ban viral engine and social media platform TikTok on state owned devices.

This move stems from a growing argument that TikTok is a tool of the Chinese government. Richmond writes,

TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020. It has been targeted by critics who say the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location. U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices.

TikTok is super popular among teens and college students and the increasing geopolitical battle between the US and China will bring the its popularity and legitimacy into serious question. He continues,

TikTok is consumed by two-thirds of American teens and has become the second-most popular domain in the world. But there’s long been bipartisan concern in Washington that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation.