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 and suppressing anti-Chinese content.
- 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
- September 2016 - ByteDance Launches Douyin
- June 2017 - China’s National Intelligence Law Goes into Effect
- September 13, 2017 - TikTok Launches in Indonesia
- November 2017 - ByteDance Acquires musical.ly
- August 2, 2018 - TikTok Merges with musical.ly, Launching App in United States
- November 2018 - TikTok Overtakes Other Social Media Apps
- January 26, 2019 - TikTok Allows Advertising
- February 27, 2019 - TikTok Settles Child Privacy Violation Claims
- November 1, 2019 - TikTok Reportedly Under U.S. National Security Review
- December 16, 2019 - U.S. Department of Defense Issues Guidance on TikTok
- December 2019 - U.S. Army and Navy Ban TikTok on Government Devices
- January 2020 - U.S. Marine Corps Bans TikTok on Government Devices
- January 3, 2020 - U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard Confirm TikTok Bans
- August 6, 2020 - President Donald Trump Issues Executive Order 13942
- September 19, 2020 - Oracle Partners with TikTok as Part of “Project Texas”
- November 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
- October 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
- October 20, 2022 - Forbes Reports ByteDance Plan to Surveil Physical Locations of Specific U.S. Citizens
- December 22, 2022 - ByteDance Reveals Data Leak
- December 29, 2022 - Biden Signs No TikTok on Government Devices Act
- February 24, 2023 - DATA Act Introduced to the House of Representatives
- March 7, 2023 - RESTRICT Act Introduced to the Senate
- March 23, 2023 - U.S. Congress Questions TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew
- April to May 2023 - Montana Bans TikTok for All Users and Faces Lawsuits
- June 2, 2023 - Department of Defense Bans TikTok
- November 30, 2023 - Federal Judge Blocks Montana’s TikTok Ban
- January 31, 2024 - TikTok CEO Testifies to Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing
- March 13, 2024 - Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act Passed in House of Representatives
- April 24, 2024 - President Biden Signed into Law the National Security Package
- May 7, 2024 - ByteDance Sues to Stop Ban
- August 2, 2024 - DOJ and FTC File Civil Lawsuit against TikTok
- October 8, 2024 - 14 Attorneys General Sue TikTok
- October 8, 2024 - Internal TikTok Documents Reveal Plan to Influence U.S. Politicians
- October 11, 2024 - Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) Request TikTok Internal Documents on Child Endangerment
- November 6, 2024 - Canada Orders Dissolution of Canadian TikTok Business
- December 6, 2024 - Federal Appeals Court Upholds Federal Ability to Ban TikTok
- December 6, 2024 - Romania Calls off Presidential Election, Citing Concerns of TikTok Interference
- December 8, 2024 - TikTok Requests Temporary Freeze on TikTok Ban Law
- December 13, 2024 - D.C. Circuit Court Denies Request to Freeze TikTok Ban Law
- December 16, 2024 - TikTok Asks the U.S. Supreme Court Emergency Stay on TikTok Ban Law
- December 18, 2024 - U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Review TikTok Law
- December 21, 2024 - Albania Bans TikTok for One Year
- December 27, 2024 - Trump Asks Supreme Court to Delay Start of TikTok Ban
- January 10, 2025 - Supreme Court Hears TikTok Case
- January 15, 2025 - TikTok Indicates the App Will Be Completely Shut Down Immediately if Banned
- January 15, 2025 - TikTok Says U.S. Employees Will Keep Jobs if Ban is Enforced
- January 16, 2025 - TikTok “Refugees” Flock to RedNote
- January 17, 2025 - Reports Say Biden Administration Won’t Enforce TikTok Ban
- January 17, 2025 - U.S. Supreme Court Upholds TikTok Ban
- January 19, 2025 - U.S. TikTok Ban Officially Goes into Effect
- January 19, 2025 - TikTok Begins Restoring Service in the U.S.
- January 20, 2025 - Trump Issues TikTok Executive Order
- February 13, 2024 - Apple and Google App Stores Restore TikTok
- March 14, 2025 - Vice President J.D. Vance Confident of TikTok Sale by April 5, 2025
- March 25, 2025 - TikTok “Wallpapers” D.C. with Marketing Campaign
- April 4, 2025 - Trump Extends Sale or Ban Deadline
- April 6, 2025 - Trump Says China Backed out of Sale Deal Because of Tariffs
- May 2, 2025 - TikTok Fined $600 Million by the Irish Data Protection Commission
- May 6, 2025 - TikTok Tells Advertisers “TikTok Is Here”
Assessment Quiz
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Discussion Questions
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