The People do not need to be governed on a micromanagement level where mama and papa set parental permissions on websites they deem safe for their kids. That would be true if there weren’t so many Karens writing Congress and begging them to do something about the big bad social media platform called TikTok that poses some self-manufactured evil on its innocent and naïve users.
Why would TikTok be banned? As ABC News reports, the Chinese-owned company would allow its government to have access to user data and use it to spread false information. Easily, the fix for that would be that users only share information they wouldn’t have a problem with the world knowing, and any “news” can easily be confirmed or rejected by consulting a few credible sources before believing just anything on the internet.
There! Problem solved! What happened to spreading social awareness about issues instead of going straight to Big Brother to solve everyone’s problems politically? Moving forward.
What would a ban look like? If a ban were to be imposed, CNBC details a process that starts with, “The government may have to turn to legislation or executive orders to get app distributors, ISPs, and cloud services to block access to TikTok.” The app distributors Google and Apple would have to comply. ISPs such as Verizon and Comcast would be included. Finally, Oracle is the cloud service hosting all of the U.S. TikTok usage. That’s where it all would begin.
Douglas Schmidt, an engineering professor at Vanderbilt, talked about workarounds for a TikTok ban.
“There will almost always be ways around this. It would just be a lot more difficult for the average person to do it without getting an advanced degree in computer security or something.”
As of right now, the biggest creators on the app include Khaby Lame with about 155 million followers, Charli D’Amelio at 150 million, Bella Poarch at over 90 million, Addison Rae reaching 90 million, and Mr. Beast reaching 80 million followers. All the celebrities in music, acting, and from the socialite realm easily reach into the millions as well. So, TikTok has become a powerful app for anyone to reach celebrity status if their content is good, and as an added bonus, get paid very well for the videos they produce.
What can they do? There have been options that have existed long before TikTok ever came along. YouTube is still going strong and it pays for performance, too. Instagram is just like TikTok when it comes to sharing videos, except it has the added feature that allows users to simply post photos. Instagram won’t pay for views, but a user can still get paid if they have enough followers to gain a sponsor or if they share affiliate links to products they’re promoting.
Of course, money isn’t always what it’s about. If notoriety is the game or if a user just loves creating content for followers to enjoy, Facebook and Twitter are still great places to share videos. In fact, it seems YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter will always be a part of the equation for anyone who simply loves creating content and sharing it with the world.
If the ban is inevitable, it’s a great idea to add a link from TikTok to other social media accounts and shift the followers there. Go back to the old platforms that have stood the test of time, haven’t offended any governments or Karens, and don’t threaten National Security. Everything will continue to run smoothly.