Following the recent five-hour Congressional hearing with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, users of the app have expressed their concern regarding the future of the app due to government actions. Vitus “V” Spehar, creator of the TikTok channel Under The News Desk, is concerned that the potential ban of TikTok in the US would remove US citizens from the global conversation on the app, disconnecting them from frontline reporting in multiple countries. Tech ethicists and creators alike are annoyed by the hysteria around the app due to the lack of substantial evidence that this app poses a substantial risk to national security. They believe that congressional hearings held to assess the situation cannot be considered credible if the congresspeople lack a basic understanding of technology to ask relevant questions. TikTok has tried to appease US officials with Project Texas, a $1.5bn plan that will move US users’ data to Oracle servers, while also creating the TikTok U.S. Data Security Inc. to oversee any aspect of TikTok that may be related to national security. Rather than using legislation to ban TikTok, representatives from the community, including Spehar, propose supporting solutions like Project Texas. The topic of moderation was also discussed at the Congressional hearing as multiple congresspeople enquired about how TikTok moderates dangerous trends like “the blackout challenge,” where children see how long they can hold their breath. Despite the challenging aspects of moderating content, TikTok’s “bottom-up” information environment does lend itself to surfacing good content that would never get exposure on other social networks. TikTok has also provided opportunities for small businesses and members of the LGBTQ+ community who found communities on the app, thus bettering their lives.
Possible rewrites: – TikTokers are seething with anger over possible ban. – Potential TikTok ban is enraging TikTokers. – The prospect of TikTok being banned is driving TikTokers mad. – TikTokers are incensed by the mere idea of a ban. – The possibility of TikTok’s demise is causing TikTokers to boil with rage.
