Over the weekend, President Donald Trump stated he was looking into banning TikTok “as early as Saturday.” This comes on the tail end of a long debate over TikTok’s data utilization and privacy. The main reason behind this debate is that companies based in China have to follow Chinese laws, some of which give the Chinese party access to data upon request.

The Trump administration is worried China may use the data gathered today to harm the United States in the future. I believe TikTok’s data utilization and possible requirement to comply with Chinese laws are issues, but I do not believe the way to fix this is not with an outright ban of the app. 

It is no longer a secret most companies who provide a service for “free” are monetizing the consumer for a profit. This happens in many ways. Most gather information about things we may want to buy in order to target personalized advertisements. 

The problem with TikTok is it is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. Based in Beijing, it must comply with Chinese laws. According to The Diplomat, the Chinese Cybersecurity Law “requires network operators to store select data within China” and “allows Chinese authorities to conduct spot-checks on a company’s network operations.” 

This means TikTok’s data it collects on its users could be accessible to the Chinese government. TikTok, without a doubt, collects data on its users. Its privacy policy states: “We collect information when you create an account and use the platform. We also collect the information you share with us from third-party social network providers and technical and behavioral information about your use of the platform. We also collect information contained in the messages you send through our platform and information from your phone book if you grant us access to your phone book on your mobile device.” 

However, even with all the information about their data collection, I do not believe TikTok should be banned. Should the U.S. government tighten its own and TikTok’s privacy rules? Yes, they should. 

According to the Gulf Times, TikTok, on June 30th, denied sharing data with China after India banned the app. The Global Times says TikTok has complied with U.S. laws. Our user data is stored only in the United States and they never send it to China.

The outright banning of this platform in the U.S. would be wrong. I believe this platform would fall under the First Amendment as freedom of speech. Many users find it as a way to express themselves in ways other applications don’t allow. 

Whatever the United States decides to do, it has, at the very least, brought awareness to the data utilization techniques used by tech companies. Even though I believe banning the app is not the right road to take, there are other ways our user data can be more secure. I think the Trump administration should find another way to secure our data other than banning the app and potentially restricting freedom of speech in the United States.