Restrictions on TikTok in the United States

Restrictions on TikTok in the United States
In the United States, social media service TikTok has faced many bans and attempted bans due to national security concerns and its ownership by the Chinese company ByteDance. , federal employees and state employees in 34 (out of 50) states are prohibited from using the app on government devices. In May 2023, Montana became the first state to ban TikTok on all personal devices, though this will not take effect until January 1, 2024, and is being challenged in court.
Federal
In January 2020, the United States Army and Navy banned TikTok on government devices after the Defense Department labeled it a security risk. Before the policy change, army recruiters had been using the platform to attract young people. Unofficial promotional videos continue to be posted on TikTok under personal accounts, drawing the ire of government officials, but they have also helped boost the number of enlistees; several accounts have millions of views and followers.
Trump administration
In 2020, the U.S. government announced that it was considering banning the Chinese social media platform TikTok upon a request from then-U.S. president Donald Trump, who viewed the app as a national security threat. The result was that TikTok owner ByteDance—which initially planned on selling a small portion of TikTok to an American company—agreed to divest TikTok to prevent a ban in the United States and in other countries where restrictions are also being considered due to privacy concerns, which themselves are mostly related to its ownership by a firm based in China.
TikTok would later announce plans to file legal action challenging the order's transactional prohibitions with U.S. companies. The lawsuit against the Trump administration's order was filed on August 24, and contended that the administration's order was motivated by Trump's efforts to boost re-election support through protectionist trade policies aimed at China. A separate suit filed the same day by TikTok's U.S. technical program manager Patrick Ryan against Trump and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross sought a temporary restraining order (TRO), arguing that his due process rights were violated and the ban was an "unconstitutional taking" of Ryan's property under the Fifth Amendment; the suit also claimed Trump's action was likely a retaliation because of the TikTok pranks targeting the June 20 campaign rally.
American technology company Microsoft had previously proposed an idea to acquire TikTok's algorithm and other artificial intelligence technology, but this was declined by ByteDance, as its executives expressed concern that it would likely be opposed by the Chinese government, which criticized the Trump administration's order previously as a "smash and grab" forced sale and (on September 13, 2021) suggested it would prefer the shuttering of U.S. operations over such a sale.
Biden administration
On June 9, 2021, the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 14034, "Protecting Americans' Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries" ("EO 14034"). EO 14034, overturning three Executive Orders signed by Donald Trump: Executive Order 13942, Executive Order 13943, and Executive Order 13971. Despite revoking these Executive Orders, the Biden Administration's EO 14304 has called upon other federal agencies to continue a broad review of foreign-owned applications set to continuously inform the President of the risk that the applications pose to personal data and national security. The White House said that, "The Biden Administration is committed to promoting an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure Internet; protecting human rights online and offline; and supporting a vibrant, global digital economy."
On December 30, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, prohibiting the use of the app on devices owned by the federal government, with some exceptions. Days after the Biden administration called on ByteDance, which owns TikTok, to sell the platform or face a ban, law enforcement officials disclosed that an investigation into TikTok was taking place. On March 17, 2023, the FBI and US Justice Department officially launched an investigation of TikTok, including allegations that the company spied on American journalists.
On January 25, 2023, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley introduced a bill to ban the platform nationwide. It was later blocked in the Senate by a forced vote on 29 March 2023.
In February and March 2023, the DATA Act and the RESTRICT Act were both introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively. The DATA Act, introduced on February 24 by Michael McCaul, aimed to ban selling non-public personal data to third-party buyers. On March 7, Senator Mark Warner introduced the RESTRICT Act: if passed, it would give the Secretary of Commerce authority to review business transactions made by IT service and product vendors tied to designated "foreign adversaries" if they present an undue threat to national security, and have more than one million active users in the United States. The legislation would allow for the enforcement of orders and other mitigation measures, which could include mandatory divestment, or being prohibited from doing business in the United States.
States
Employee and student bans
As of April 2023, at least 34 (of 50) states have announced or enacted bans on state government agencies, employees, and contractors using TikTok on government-issued devices. State bans only affect government employees and do not prohibit civilians from having or using the app on their personal devices.
Universities
Following state bans, some public universities have also opted to ban TikTok on-campus Wi-Fi and university-owned computers. These include, but are not limited to:
Arizona State University
Arkansas State University
Arkansas Tech University
Auburn University
Black Hills State University
Boise State University
Clemson University
Dakota State University
Idaho State University
Iowa State University
Lamar University
Langston University
McLennan Community College
Montana University System
Morgan State University
Northeastern State University
Northern State University
Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University
Purdue University
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
South Dakota State University
Texas A&M University system
Texas State Technical College
Texas State University
Texas Tech University System
University of Arizona
University of Central Oklahoma
University of Florida
University of Houston System
University of Idaho
University of Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
University of Oklahoma
University of South Dakota
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
University of Wisconsin System
University System of Georgia
West Texas A&M University
Public bans
Montana
On April 14, 2023, Montana became the first state to pass legislation banning TikTok on all personal devices operating within state lines, and barring app stores from offering TikTok for download. Governor Greg Gianforte signed the bill, Senate Bill 419, into law on May 17, claiming he had banned TikTok "to protect Montanans’ personal and private data from the Chinese Communist Party." The law takes effect January 2024, though Montana content creators filed suit against the state once the bill was signed. The creators' lawsuit is financed and directed by TikTok, with law firm Davis Wright Tremaine representing them.
Lobbying group NetChoice argued that the ban is an unconstitutional bill of attainder and also violates the freedom of speech clause of the First Amendment. Hours after the bill was signed into law, five TikTok creators filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Montana against the state. A spokeswoman for Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said that the state is "fully prepared to defend the law".
The law faces technical restrictions. The App Store and Google Play Store track users by country, not by state, and would need to define the behavior when a user crosses state lines. While Apple and Google may be able to use IP addresses to track device locations, users may be able to use a virtual private network (VPN) to circumvent the restriction. If these app stores are found to be hosting TikTok for Montana users, violators could face fines of $10,000 per day. TikTok has stated that it would need to collect data from users in order to comply with the bill.
Cities
In August 2023, New York City banned TikTok on government-owned devices for security reasons.
Reactions
Polls
A July 2020 poll from Morning Consult, with 2,200 surveyed, found that 29% of American adults supported a TikTok ban, 33% opposed one, and 38% had no opinion. An August 2020 poll from Reuters/Ipsos, surveying 1,349, had 40% supporting Trump's move to ban the app, 30% opposed, and 30% uncertain.
A December 2022 poll from Rasmussen Reports, surveying 1,000 likely U.S. voters, found that 68% supported proposals to federally ban TikTok, with 43% strongly supporting a ban. Conversely, 24% surveyed were opposed, including 12% who strongly opposed.
A March 2023 poll from The Washington Post, surveying 1,027 American adults, found that 41% supported the federal government banning TikTok, while 25% remain opposed to a ban. Another March poll, from Pew Research Center, found twice as many adult Americans support the U.S. government's ban on TikTok as oppose it (50% vs. 22%), though a significant portion (28%) remain unsure.
Industry response
Despite potential U.S. bans, some advertisers have increased their spending on TikTok in 2023. Edward East, CEO of marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy, stated that instead of being intimidated by a potential ban, the industry is seeing an increase in brand investment through TikTok.
TikTok began working on Project Texas after 2020 to address data concerns from the US government.
Commentary
Bans and attempts to ban the app in the United States have drawn skepticism, citing allegations of hypocrisy, protectionism, and not addressing user data privacy in general.
Potential implications
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) threatened to ban TikTok if ByteDance would not sell its stake. CFIUS is a government agency that reviews foreign investments in U.S. companies for national security reasons. In this case, CFIUS was concerned that TikTok could be used by the Chinese government to gather data on U.S. citizens.
If TikTok is banned in the U.S., Americans will not possess the ability to connect to the app with just a VPN. Instead, those who wish to continue using the app may need to use a proxy server or a secure browser, in order to circumvent a ban.
See also
Censorship of TikTok
No TikTok on Government Devices Act
RESTRICT Act
References
TikTok
TikTok