TikTok got banned for one and only one reason: to silence the narrative around a 70 year old war.
Sources:
- ADL: "we have a major major major generational problem" ... "we have a tiktok problem" http://web.archive.org/web/20231116180709/https://media.mehr...
- US Representative (MIT alum): everyone in the U.S. Congress "has an AIPAC person" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2reaGhLnYI
False claims for the reason for the ban:
- Tiktok has great content and a great algorithm to help you find it (that's a good thing)
- Tiktok spies and collects data, such as scraping your clipboard, network (Apple iOS sandboxing prevents any app from doing so without explicit user permission - technical audience here shouldn't fall for this one easily)
- Tiktok collects face recognition data on citizens worldwide (anyone scraping Instagram can do that - technical audience here shouldn't fall for this one easily)
- Tiktok is addictive, and designed to be (so is Instagram, and?)
- Tiktok is cultural expression, and contributes to people's feeling of identity (good; the more diverse cultural expressions the better)
- Tiktok provides a platform for critical thinking and debate (not really a bad thing if you think about it)
- Tiktok contributed to Brexit, and similar political crises in the EU (so does X)
- Tiktok is part of the Chinese 100 year marathon strategy (vague scare tactic)