TikTok

Table of Contents

Introduction
Pros
- Pro 1: TikTok poses a threat to U.S. national security, serving as a propaganda arm of the Chinese Communist Party.
- Pro 2: TikTok is rife with dangerous misinformation that the government can and should rightly ban.
- Pro 3: A “tough on China” approach is needed to safeguard the United States and its citizens.
Cons
- Con 1: TikTok is no more a threat than American-owned social media sites that also collect and sell user data.
- Con 2: Banning TikTok is discriminatory, undemocratic, and un-American.
- Con 3: Singling out China and TikTok for recriminations is xenophobic and rank political theater.
U.S. Federal and State Bans on TikTok
International Bans on TikTok
Historical Timeline
- 2012 - ByteDance Is Founded
- July 2014 - Early Version of musical.ly Launches on iTunes
- April 2015 through March 2016 - muscial.ly Takes Off
- Sept. 2016 - ByteDance Launches Douyin
- June 2017 - China’s National Intelligence Law Goes into Effect
- Sep. 13, 2017 - TikTok Launches in Indonesia
- Nov. 2017 - ByteDance Acquires musical.ly
- Aug. 2, 2018 - TikTok Merges with musical.ly, Launching App in United States
- Jan. 26, 2019 - TikTok Allows Advertising
- Nov. 1, 2019 - TikTok Reportedly Under U.S. National Security Review
- Dec. 16, 2019 - U.S. Department of Defense Issues Guidance on TikTok
- Dec. 2019 - U.S. Army and Navy Ban TikTok on Government Devices
- Jan. 2020 - U.S. Marine Corps Bans TikTok on Government Devices
- Jan. 3, 2020 - U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard Confirm TikTok Bans
- Aug. 6, 2020 - President Donald Trump Issues Executive Order 13942
- Sep. 19, 2020 - Oracle Partners with TikTok as Part of “Project Texas”
- Nov. 12, 2020 - U.S. Department of Commerce Will Not Enforce TikTok Ban
- May 19, 2021 - ByteDance CEO Steps Down
- June 11, 2021 - President Joe Biden Overturns Trump Executive Order 13942
- Oct. 26, 2021 - TikTok’s Michael Beckerman Testifies in Subcommittee
- June 17, 2022 - BuzzFeed Reports TikTok Employees Repeatedly Accessed American User Data
- July 2022 - “Project Texas” Begins Roll Out
- July 13 2022 - FCC Commissioner Says Troops’ TikTok Use Endangers U.S. Military
- Oct. 20, 2022 - Forbes Reports ByteDance Plan to Surveil Physical Locations of Specific U.S. Citizens
- Dec. 22, 2022 - ByteDance Reveals Data Leak
- Dec. 29, 2022 - Biden Signs No TikTok on Government Devices Act
- Feb. 24, 2023 - DATA Act Introduced to the House of Representatives
- Mar. 7, 2023 - RESTRICT Act Introduced to the Senate
- Mar. 23, 2023 - U.S. Congress Questions TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew
- Apr. to May 2023 - Montana Bans TikTok for All Users and Faces Lawsuits
- June 2, 2023 - Department of Defense Bans TikTok
- Nov. 30, 2023 - Federal Judge Blocks Montana’s TikTok Ban
- Jan. 31, 2024 - TikTok CEO Testifies to Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
- Mar. 13, 2024 - Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act Passed in House of Representatives
- Apr. 23, 2024 - President Biden Signed into Law the National Security Package
- May 7, 2024 - ByteDance Sues to Stop Ban
- Aug. 2, 2024 - DOJ and FTC File Civil Lawsuit against TikTok
- Oct. 8, 2024 - 14 Attorneys General Sue TikTok
- Oct. 8, 2024 - Internal TikTok Documents Reveal Plan to Influence U.S. Politicians
- Oct. 11, 2024 - Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) Request TikTok Internal Documents on Child Endangerment
- Nov. 6, 2024 - Canada Orders Dissolution of Canadian TikTok Business
- Dec. 6, 2024 - Federal Appeals Court Upholds Federal Ability to Ban TikTok
- Dec. 6, 2024 - Romania Calls off Presidential Election, Citing Concerns of TikTok Interference
- Dec. 8, 2024 - TikTok Requests Temporary Freeze on TikTok Ban Law
- Dec. 13, 2024 - D.C. Circuit Court Denies Request to Freeze TikTok Ban Law
- Dec. 16, 2024 - TikTok Asks the U.S. Supreme Court Emergency Stay on TikTok Ban Law
- Dec. 18, 2024 - U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Review TikTok Law
- Dec. 21, 2024 - Albania Bans TikTok for One Year
- Dec. 27, 2024 - Trump Asks Supreme Court to Delay Start of TikTok Ban
- Jan. 10, 2025 - Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case
- Jan. 15, 2025 - TikTok Indicates the App Will Be Completely Shut Down Immediately if Banned
- Jan. 15, 2025 - TikTok Says U.S. Employees Will Keep Jobs if Ban is Enforced
- Jan. 16, 2025 - TikTok “Refugees” Flock to RedNote
- Jan. 17, 2025 - Reports Say Biden Administration Won’t Enforce TikTok Ban
- Jan. 17, 2025 - U.S. Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban
- Jan. 19, 2025 - U.S. TikTok Ban Goes into Effect
- Jan. 19, 2025 - TikTok Begins Restoring Service in the U.S.
- Jan. 20, 2025 - Trump Issues TikTok Executive Order on Day One in Office
Discussion Questions
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Sources

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