TikTok is more than just an app; it’s become a cultural force, shaping how millions communicate through online content. With more than a billion users worldwide and 170 million users in America at its peak, TikTok’s future in America seems bleak. On January 19, 2025, Congress passed a landmark bill banning TikTok in a landslide 352 to 65 vote. While TikTok did receive an extension, it currently has less than 70 days to conclude its affairs.

So why are lawmakers so adamant about banning TikTok? The first concern is data privacy. TikTok’s algorithm gathers data based on the videos a user skips and the videos a user lingers on. Because those videos are so short, TikTok can quickly accumulate a hoard of information on its users. TikTok can access information on device type, location, IP address, search history, and message content. TikTok can then use this information to infer other factors such as age range, gender, and interests.

The Chinese government could exert control over TikTok to collect this information through ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, which is headquartered in Beijing. Under China’s National Intelligence Law, companies are required to assist with government intelligence work—meaning ByteDance could be legally compelled to share data. If the Chinese government asks TikTok to turn over information, executives and investors would almost certainly be unwilling to risk asset seizure, imprisonment, and legal action.

But it’s not just that TikTok collects a lot of information. Anything like TikTok would do almost nothing to ensure data privacy. Nearly all social media companies in the United States sell private data on a market so unregulated that, according to journalist Karl Bode, “Chinese, Russian, and U.S. governments can all just buy data from … poorly regulated data broker [markets].” The “private” data market is so unregulated that a New Hampshire stalker was able to locate and kill a former classmate with $45 worth of information bought from an online data broker.

In 2024, online data broker company Epsilon admitted to selling the data of over 30 million consumers to clients that they knew were carrying out scams. Since data brokers clearly don’t care about who clients are and what they’ll do with bought data, why would China need TikTok specifically to spy on Americans?

Lawmakers have also expressed concern over Chinese influence on TikTok’s content. More than 20 legislators justified their support for banning TikTok by citing risks of foreign propaganda, as well as other concerns about the content carried on TikTok, such as the content available to minors and the alleged suppression of pro-Ukraine videos.

It’s true that TikTok has manipulated content in the past. In 2019, leaked documents showed that TikTok had instructed moderators to ban content on high-profile political topics, citing mentions of Tiananmen Square, Tibetan independence, or the banned religious group Falun Gong. Additionally, in 2020, The Intercept reported that its moderators were told to suppress videos by “users who are too ugly, poor, or disabled” for the platform.

In addition to limiting the visibility of topics sensitive to China, some researchers also believe that TikTok promotes narratives reflecting official Chinese stances on global affairs.

However, the government can’t simply ban speech outlets it dislikes, even if those outlets contain propaganda. In 1965, the court struck down a law that required the postmaster general to detain “communist political propaganda,” which could be delivered to recipients only after they specifically requested it from the U.S. post office. In its decision, the court reasoned that even this “mere burden” was an unconstitutional effort to “control the flow of ideas to the public.” Also, banning TikTok would still fail to stop the spread of Chinese propaganda. Propaganda accounts thrive on a diverse spread of social media sites, websites, and content distribution systems that extend far beyond TikTok’s reach. Platforms that have recently axed their content moderation teams, such as Facebook and X, are especially vulnerable to Chinese and Russian propaganda accounts.

Ultimately, the TikTok ban is a publicity stunt that fails to accomplish what it promises and ignores deeper issues about American data privacy. If lawmakers genuinely cared about data privacy and misinformation, they wouldn’t single out TikTok while ignoring more significant issues such as unregulated data markets and the proliferation of propaganda across major social media platforms. Instead of performative bans, the U.S. should follow Europe’s lead in passing stronger data protection laws, like the General Data Protection Regulation, to regulate how all American companies collect, use, and sell data. If Congress wants real reform, PHS students should know the inherent risks of using online platforms, educate themselves on how to recognize propaganda and ads, and adjust privacy settings to reduce data collection. If lawmakers are serious about protecting our data, they should act like it.