(NewsNation) — The historic vote in the House to ban TikTok brings questions as to whether the social media app really is an issue of national security or a blatant attempt at censorship.
It isn’t the first time, however, that a Chinese-owned social media platform may be forced to sell in order to stay in the U.S.
Grindr, one of the world’s most popular gay dating apps, was forced to sell back in 2020 over fears it would use people’s personal information, including HIV status, to blackmail U.S. citizens.
Rachel Fiset, a white-collar defense attorney, told “NewsNation Now” Grindr’s ban was a much different scenario.
“The difference here is that the TikTok ban is going through Congress,” she said. “That is not what happened in the sale of Grindr. The forced sale of Grindr was mandated by a government agency known as The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). They’re charged with finding threats to national security through investment by foreign countries. And they do have a particular focus on China much of the time.”
Just about every app records and uses personal data. Why is TikTok a bigger concern for Congress?
Both the FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned TikTok owner ByteDance could share user data — such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers — with China’s authoritarian government. TikTok said it has never done that and wouldn’t do so if asked. The U.S. government also hasn’t provided evidence of that happening.
Fiset told NewsNation there are two reasons lawmakers are targeting TikTok.
“One is the access to personal data on a massive scale. And that is the Chinese government learning basically the habits, the whereabouts, and various private information from U.S. citizens,” said Fiset. “And it’s not an individual knowledge. I think it’s more of a mass knowledge, knowing our patterns, what we like, basically able to get inside of our minds.
“The second point is the influence they can have once they understand the American public, our likes, our dislikes, our habits, how they can now influence our habits, our likes, our dislikes, perhaps our political preferences and how we do things.”
President Biden said he would sign a TikTok ban if it passed Congress. Would a legal challenge follow?
“I believe we have a huge legal battle as to First Amendment rights and the influence that Tiktok has here,” said Fiset. “There are also very influential lobbyists, and they will fight this until the death.”
Montana’s ban on the app was blocked in November by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said the ban “oversteps state power and infringes on the Constitutional right of users and businesses” while singling out the state for its fixation on purported Chinese influence.
What about TikTok users?
TikTok notified some users last week to urge them to call their representatives about the measure, which it characterized as a “TikTok shutdown.”
The company told users Congress was planning a “total ban” on the platform that could “damage millions of businesses, destroy the livelihoods of countless creators across the country and deny artists an audience.”
On Thursday, many users responded by inundating congressional offices with calls, leading some to shut off their phones.
Can I access TikTok if it gets banned?
Experts say users can likely find ways to get around a ban.
App users can try to use virtual private networks, or VPNs, to disguise their location and bypass such restrictions, said Roger Entner, a telecom analyst and the founder of Recon Analytics. It will be challenging for the government to crack down on that behavior because there are many foreign VPN services that don’t need to abide by U.S. laws, Entner said.
However, using VPNs also raises additional security questions, especially for users who choose a free or cheap VPN provider they haven’t carefully vetted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
