Should The Government Ban TikTok?

Last week, the C.E.O. of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, appeared at a congressional hearing on TikTok before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to answer questions on the privacy issues and algorithms. It didn’t go well.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy later tweeted that the chamber would be "moving forward with legislation" on TikTok. The legislation is the RESTRICT ACT which is supported by the President as well. This is heavy pressure from both political parties on one company.

But this isn’t just a random company, this is one of the most popular and influential social media apps in this country. The CEO of TikTok stated that 150 million Americans use TikTok per month. In just two years, the share of U.S. adults who say they regularly get news from TikTok has roughly tripled, from 3% in 2020 to 10% in 2022.

TikTok reminds me of television on steroids. It’s the perfect piecemeal delivery of dopamine shots and WMD scale technology for our reptile brains. You notice quickly the algorithm adapts to your preferences. You can watch it in real-time change and try to send you the most stimulating content that appeals to your preferences based on likes and view length. It is impressive. I can see how someone can spend a large part of their day on it. It’s the app most people spend their time on.

It’s no surprise other apps like Instagram and Spotify are just copying it. Refinement Culture.

It’s probably going to be the homepage of the internet soon. So why does the government want to ban it?

Why Does the US Government Want to Ban It?

There are two publicly stated two reasons were given for banning TikTok:

1) Geopolitical. TikTok is a Chinese company. It could send US data to Chinese Government officials, also, the Chinese Government may manipulate the algorithm to push viewpoints hostile to US interests and friendly to Chinese interests. G

2) Causing Mood Disorders. TikTok controls an addictive algorithm that has manipulated behavior in young people which has led to a rise in negative moods, depression and unwanted social changes.

These are two serious allegations but there is much more going on behind the scenes.

What is the Chinese-America Relationship?

All the apps you use collect information on you. TikTok’s privacy policy is no different than other apps. It collects name, age, phone number, email, approximate location, IP addresses, contact lists, messages, biometric identifiers (like face or voiceprints), keystroke patterns, and information gathered from interaction with the app, such as user-generated content, interests, preferences, and associated metadata. There are concerns that this data could be used by the Chinese government. China’s National Intelligence Law allows the Chinese government broad license to require Chinese companies and citizens to “support, assist, and cooperate” with Chinese intelligence work. Since “intelligence work” remains undefined, this could potentially allow the Chinese government unfettered access to data held by any Chinese company. Ok, so what?

Spotify is a Swedish company but no one is worried about Sweden trying to push a political agenda or access US data. That’s Sweden is an ally of the United States.

What is China then? Is China an ally? No one would call China an ally. But is it an enemy? These are two countries that are deeply interconnected. Enemies do not cooperate to this extent. Look at this massive amount of trade happening between the two countries .

During the cold war, the USSR and the US pointed missiles at each others industrial centers. Today if you want to aim missiles at the industrial center of the United States, you would aim them at China. We are interconnected enough that harming another becomes, effectively, self-harm. That doesn’t mean war will never happen between China and the US, it just won’t be done by rational parties.

What is an Enemy?

Is China an enemy? An enemy is an entity in a zero-sum game that attacks you and gains at your expense. The Cold War is one example, trying to flip countries like Vietnam to the Soviet bloc at the expense of the American led West. One winner and one loser. Today, China is the second biggest power in the world and if its’ goal is to usurp the United States then it would make sense to use TikTok to diminish and cause mayhem inside the US.

Is China a competitor? A competitor is an entity that has diverging interests but is not trying to destroy the system. In fact, competitors help the system stay non zero-sum through competition. It prevents monopolies. Think of countries racing to develop industries (energy, transportation, technology, leisure) to compete with each other. At the end, the system wins. Like how restaurants need to fail and get replaced by better restaurants in order for the food ecosystem to get better in the neighborhood.

If China is an enemy than banning TikTok makes a lot of sense. If China is a competitor then maybe it doesn’t make sense.

5 years ago, Trump and Putin met and each side considered each other competitors.

Today, the US has sent over 46 billion dollars to Ukraine for defense against a war against Russia. Now Russia is an enemy.

It would be nice if our government could communicate to the American people whether it sees China as a competitor or as an enemy. Because right now, all the things you buy at Wal-Mart or on Amazon are from China. Yet, this country is supposed to be a threat? There is confusion right now. This congressional hearing treated China as a potential enemy. If it is, tell it to the American people and cut trade.

The First Smartphone Generation

Every generation in history thought their childhood was better than the childhood of the generation after them. And they were all wrong. Until now. Now you can say it and you're absolutely right. We have data on the first generation who grew up with the smartphone, algorithms and social media.

I believe a Gutenberg sized event happened in 2008 with the introduction of the smart phone and social media that changed our social environment for the foreseeable future. What is essentially happening is that teenagers (and adults) are using the online world to replace the real world.

The purpose of technology, like art, is to add to life and not substitute life.

Here are some of the changes that have occurred:

1) The smart phone, social media and algorithms allow us to be in our own individual head space more than any previous generation in history.

2) What does the data say for the first generation of teenagers who grew up with screens, smartphones and social media?

3) What was life before the pre-smartphone era? We’re not going back to the previous age at this point, but lessons about how to live before the smartphone is instructive of how things have changed today.

The Smartphone Has Increased Personal Head Space

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.