Does TikTok play with life or not?Will the United States have a counterattack in 2024?
TikTok, a seemingly innocuous short** app, has become the eye of the storm in American politics. Do you remember TikTok, which was once called "spyware" and "digital fentanyl" by U.S. lawmakers?was banned by the state of Montana, as if he was going to die. However, don't get too happy, TikTok may still have a chance to counterattack, and it is also on the side of the United States in 2024.
It all started in 2023. In this year, TikTok is like a young man, making a lot of noise in the city, uncontrolled. First of all, Montana didn't buy it, and the legislation directly banned it. It's like tiktok is some kind of big sin, which really makes people laugh and cry. But TikTok doesn't seem to fall so easily, and it survives this storm.
Not to mention anything else, the United States is coming in 2024, and politicians from all walks of life are thinking about how to get votes. Who wants to ban a person who has 1What about platforms with 500 million U.S. users, mostly young people?That's a huge group of voters, and no one wants to offend. So, TikTok entered 2024 so shaky.
You see, the story is really not simple. TikTok's CEO was actually questioned by the US Congress for 5 hours in March this year, which was a political trial. However, that didn't make TikTok cool off. Instead, a federal judge announced at the end of November that Montana's ban would be put on hold and take its time. Moreover, the latest survey shows that the number of Americans who support the federal TikTok ban has actually decreased, and it seems that everyone is starting to feel less disgusted with this thing. For the time being, the US Congress does not plan to make any major moves to introduce any more bans. What the hell is going on?
I didn't ask an astrologer to help with that, but it seems that the astrologers have a bit of a crush on TikTok. The new year is coming, not only the United States, but more than 70 countries will usher in elections, and TikTok has become the new toy of the election campaign. Katie Habas, founder and CEO of a technology policy firm called Anchor Change, said, "This is the first time that TikTok has been the focus of a political news and opinion app in an election year, and it will be a thorny road for TikTok." "Well, it seems that TikTok is about to step into the political arena and embark on a thorny path.
Habas also said that "candidates want to reach voters on the platform, just as the Biden campaign works with opinion leaders on TikTok." "This is a precursor to a first-class battle, and whoever has more likes on TikTok will hopefully lead in the votes. But the problem is that not only Democrats, but even Republicans, have to take TikTok to "pat the pat on the back", otherwise who will win the hearts and minds of voters?
Don't underestimate this small thing, while TikTok may not disappear overnight, it has to meet tricky regulatory challenges. However, Mr. Habas said TikTok was more than comfortable with all of this. He said the company has recruited veterans from other tech platforms and is trying to gain more public support. Regardless of the controversy surrounding TikTok's spin-off from Chinese parent company ByteDance, TikTok's U.S. operations will be sold to an American company, according to Habas. It seems that TikTok still has to go through a game of thrones, which makes one wonder if this could be part of a larger geopolitical problem
The crux of the controversy is the fear that TikTok is a tool for Chinese surveillance of U.S. citizens. FBI Director Chris Ray claimed that the thing posed a risk, and that Chinese companies could be "in terms of sharing information or acting as a tool." He is even concerned that China may use TikTok to influence U.S. users. In testimony to the U.S. Congress in March, TikTok CEO Shouzi Zhou said, "TikTok has never shared or received a request from China** to share U.S. user data with China**." If someone makes such a request, TikTok will not accede either. He stressed that "ByteDance" is not owned by China**, and 60% of the company's shares are held by global institutional investors. Hey, is this a belief or a non-belief?
After all, it is not so easy to believe or not to believe in TikTok. Harsh Taneja, a professor at the University of Illinois, said, "We don't have enough information to make such a decision." He noted that the use of data by tech companies is opaque and completely different from the way TV viewership and content data has been collected in the past. "This data is collected by a third party who is neither an advertiser on the platform nor the platform itself," Taneja said. We know more about viewership data, whereas today, the use of data on technology platforms is opaque. ”
Those calling for a ban on TikTok sound a bit like the gang of people in the '70s who were worried about the bad effects of television on children. At the time, television was accused of cultivating a violent worldview and fuelling criminal behavior. And now, TikTok is being criticized for addicting children and polluting the minds of young people. Taneja said TikTok has become part of the fabric of American culture and a place for people to be creative. He believes that disabling the platform will have a negative impact on the creator economy.
However, don't think that all young people post on TikTok, some people don't do more than that. For example, Yashvi Tibruvar of the San Francisco Bay Area says she only uses TikTok as a search engine, and most of her friends do the same. "It's where we learn things," she said. "It seems that TikTok has become more than just an entertainment platform, but also a source of knowledge.
However, the company is not well loved, and some people are skeptical of the algorithm of the American company. Thibruval argues that U.S. companies are not necessarily more algorithmically behaving than TikTok. "We're skeptical of what U.S. companies are doing algorithmically," she said. She also said that TikTok does not belong to the United States and does not participate in American policies, which may be the reason why her generation has become interested in TikTok.
Overall, the future of TikTok doesn't seem so dark. The United States** in 2024 has opened a new door for it, and the controversy surrounding it has gradually subsided. Anyway, we still have a lot to say, to watch, and to listen to TikTok. This political storm may be just the beginning, and TikTok may be the protagonist in this storm. stay tuned！