If Ben Finer could get an audience with President Donald Trump, he’d ask him a simple question about TikTok. “Is this really what you’re …
If Ben Finer could get an audience with President Donald Trump, he’d ask him a simple question about TikTok. “Is this really what you’re worried about, kids making videos online? Aren’t there other more pressing issues?” This week, Trump doubled down on his threats to ban the Chinese owned app, signing an executive order that may not stand up in court that prevents its usage in the United States, effective Sept.20. (Microsoft is negotiating with TikTok owner ByteDance to buy its U. S. operations.) Trump called it a national security issue, saying data mined by TikTok could get into the hands of the Chinese government. Many parents wondered how this could be any worse than what Facebook does with our data here. Trump also banned the app WeChat, which is a staple in China and for those who live elsewhere but need to connect with friends, family, colleagues, and clients in China. The WeChat app ban has greater implications for adults because so many American firms that do business with the Chinese use WeChat to communicate with their contacts. But here in the United States for young people especially, TikTok is one of the most in-use apps. Currently No.4 on the Apple most downloaded chart, TikTok has over 800 million users, with 100 million of them in the United States. Finer, a 27-year-old aspiring opera singer who has made several videos that have received over 1 million views on TikTok, says that kind of engagement just doesn’t happen on other social media platforms. TikTok will “show your video to random people, and if they like it, they’ll share it,” he says.
