The clock is ticking on social media giant TikTok, which faces a nationwide ban in the United States unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells it by January 19. Social media theorist Clay Shirky unpacks why the US is trying to ban TikTok, what it means for the appโs users and creators and the implications for national security, freedom of speech, US-China relations and more.
In the grand crusade to keep us informed their way, those in power would never tolerate an app that thrives on actual free speech. Enter TikTok and X (formerly Twitter): the twin thorns in the side of the elite. But waitโoneโs owned by the richest man on Earth, and the other by, well, China. You catching my drift? Yeah, itโs a spicy situation.
So, TikTok got the axe, and not for the reasons you might expect. Letโs break it down into three painfully obvious “official” reasons:
- TikTok raked in boatloads of cash, and the powers-that-be? Letโs just say theyโre not big on sharing pie.
- TikTok hijacked attentionโprecious, monetizable viewsโaway from the curated narratives โTHEYโ so desperately wanted us to believe. Tragic, right?
- TikTok became a stage for frontline voicesโuncensored, unfiltered, and not pre-approved by โourโ trusted news networks. How dare people hear โthe realโ instead of โthe reelโ?
Of course, this app quickly became a nightmare for those trying to keep societyโs thoughts tied up neatly in a bow. Their grip on the narrative slipped, and boy, did they hate that. So they did what any control freak would do: shut it down. Game, set, match.
Hereโs the thing: when every person has a phone and a camera, the veil of power starts to crack. Social media without limits or political meddling gives people the platform to speak freelyโabout injustices, about failures, and, worst of all, about politicians not doing their jobs. Turns out, liberation starts with a hashtag.
So, do you see it now? TikTok wasnโt banned for being problematicโit was banned for being better than their carefully curated news networks. Thatโs the real tea.
