Countries around the world are banning the short-form platform 'TikTok.' This is due to the need to protect the mental health of youth from sexually suggestive and violent content, and to safeguard personal information of citizens.
According to The Guardian on the 23rd, Albania, a southern European country, announced on the 21st (local time) that it would block access to TikTok for at least one year. This measure comes after a 14-year-old male student killed a friend with a knife following a dispute on TikTok last month. Prime Minister Rama criticized social media (SNS), particularly TikTok, for inciting youth violence both inside and outside schools.
Prime Minister Rama said, "We will completely block TikTok for everyone for one year," adding, "The problem is TikTok and all others who hold our children hostage." He further noted, "In China, TikTok promotes how students can attend classes, protect nature, and preserve traditions, but in other countries outside of China, TikTok is not viewed that way."
Australia enacted a law last month banning the use of TikTok and other SNS for children and teenagers under 16, marking the first instance globally of prohibiting youth SNS use regardless of parental consent. The law will come into effect after a one-year grace period. During this grace period, regulated SNS platforms must implement technological measures to prevent underage usage. The administrative orders determining which SNS platforms are subject to regulation will be made by the Minister of Communications in Australia, who has indicated that TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram will likely be included.
Globally, there is a trend towards banning TikTok for the purpose of protecting youth. Last year, some states in France and the United States passed laws preventing children and teenagers from using TikTok without parental consent. Legislation banning TikTok reflects concerns regarding the negative impact of SNS on child mental health and social development. Recent discussions have pointed out that SNS not only influences youth depression but also suicide rates, alongside severe harm due to exposure to harmful content.
Additionally, TikTok is being considered for a usage ban due to security reasons arising from geopolitical tensions. Currently, TikTok is in jeopardy of withdrawing from the U.S. market, which has approximately 170 million users. The Biden administration passed the so-called 'TikTok ban law' last April, which requires TikTok to sell its U.S. business within 270 days, citing that it is being used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese Communist Party and a means of stealing personal data from Americans. On the 6th, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., dismissed a constitutionality lawsuit filed by TikTok, pushing the platform to the edge.
Representatives from TikTok have appealed to the Supreme Court and are preparing for the Supreme Court proceedings. In this context, President-elect Donald Trump expressed his desire to prevent TikTok's expulsion. At an annual event hosted by the conservative organization Turning Point in Phoenix, Arizona, on the 22nd (local time), Trump said, "Since we entered TikTok during the campaign period and accumulated billions of views with great response, I think we should reconsider (the ban on TikTok)."
Like in the United States, TikTok can also face bans for national security reasons, unlike other SNS. TikTok is owned by the Chinese IT corporation ByteDance, and there have been controversies in the past regarding the close relationship between the Chinese Communist Party and ByteDance. Users are required to provide personal information to use TikTok, raising concerns that the Chinese Communist Party could access this data.
India, which once had 150 million users, permanently banned TikTok in 2020 as tensions with China escalated over border conflicts. Relations deteriorated sharply after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in clashes between the two countries in the Himalayan border area in June 2020. Taiwan, currently at odds with China over the Taiwan Strait, banned TikTok on government devices in December 2022 and is considering extending this ban to the institutional sector.
The European Union (EU) banned the installation of TikTok on mobile phones of staff working in all policy decision-making bodies, including the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European Council last year, and some EU member governments, including Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark, have joined in this effort. Additionally, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand also prohibited the installation of TikTok on government devices or those used by public servants and accessible to government agency networks last year.