By: Christian Vazquez

Staff Writer

TikTok, the simple social media app we use and adore, is now being deemed a threat to national security by Congress. 

Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed HB 7521 Wednesday to force TikTok to either sell to an American company or lose its American users.

TikTok should not be banned or taken away from American users as it infringes on the rights of both TikTok as a foreign company and Americans as users with free speech.

ByteDance, the company that owns Tiktok, is seen as a threat to the United States simply because it is based in China, and officials are worried that there are faults in TikTok’s security and privacy, mainly claiming that user data might be shared with Beijing.

However, TikTok’s CEO,  Shou Zi Chew, who works at TikTok’s headquarters in Singapore, said he has “seen no evidence that the Chinese government has our data,” during an interview before the Senate.

No matter what, the more the data gets around, the harder it is to maintain privacy and prevent breaches of that data. Whether or not the company is foreign, hackers and leakers will always be a problem. Instagram users, for example, are frequent targets, including many here at Stevens.

TikTok is used by millions of people to have fun, promote businesses, and find new things. Taking away TikTok could detrimentally affect and harm the people who use it as a source of advertising or income.

This isn’t the first time the United States has tried to get rid of foreign influences either; many other foreign entities have been victims of US representatives’ views and prejudice.

While it is likely that users will lose their access to TikTok, they may still be able to access the app through the use of a virtual private network (VPN) which allows users to change their virtual location so even if it were banned, VPN users could still access it..

However, if ByteDance sells TikTok to an American company, the app will become fully available for Americans to use in compliance with HB 7521, but the government shouldn’t expect the company to sell just to adhere to American wants.

Ultimately, America is a country built on world cultures and diversity, and if privacy is the main concern the United States has with TikTok, then the government should look towards the steps other countries have taken towards protecting the digital and virtual privacy of their citizens.