TikTok: Misinformed About Misinformation

Have you ever planned on going to bed at reasonable hour only to find yourself on TikTok until 3am? Yeah, me too…

TikTok was first launched in 2018 by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. Soon after, TikTok began to take the world by storm becoming an increasingly popular social media platform amongst young Americans. However, as TikTok’s popularity grew, so did the concern about the Chinese government spying on us. Both Democrats and Republicans have spoken out against TikTok. In a country so divided, at least we could join hands and attempt to take down a social media platform. Some states, such as Florida, have passed or proposed legislation that would prevent Chinese citizens from buying property due to national security concerns. Sadly, this is not the first time the government has prevented foreign citizens from buying land. The government also did this during the early 1900’s through the Alien Land Laws. These laws prohibited Chinese and Japanese immigrants from buying land and led to years of discrimination against Asian Americans.

According to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, Dr. John F. Plumb, “The problem with TikTok is that a large number of Americans use it, and China may have the ability to direct misinformation through it, as well as collect data from it”. That’s scary, but I don’t know if I buy it.

The other night, strictly for research, I looked at my “For You” page on TikTok for three hours straight and I did not see much misinformation. In fact, it was mostly just silly videos that made me laugh. Quite frankly, I don’t think many members of the government have ever been on TikTok. It is ironic that many members of Congress have spoken out against TikTok and the Chinese government for spreading misinformation while Americans are exposed to misinformation produced by our own citizens almost daily through news sources such as Fox News and MSNBC. Furthermore, our cell phones, Amazon devices, and public cameras are constantly watching us and collecting our information, yet this is solely a TikTok and Chinese issue?

One hundred years later, the Alien Land Laws are viewed as a very dark time in our history and the same will be true if we let unrealistic fears and political agendas continue to be put forth by members of the government, which in turn can affect how our society views certain people and cultures as a whole. As of May 2023, 24 states have considered passing legislation that would restrict foreign citizens ability to buy property. This would be a major step back for our country if states began to actually pass and enforce these types of discriminatory laws. In a country that prides itself on being a “melting pot” for numerous ethnicities, it is very important we examine our country’s past actions and our true motivations behind these new proposed laws before we allow history to repeat itself.

Article Written by Gavin French

Sources:

Gisonna Nicholas, TikTok Video Hosting Service, Britannica (Oct. 8, 2023), Available at https://www.britannica.com/topic/TikTok (last visited Oct. 9, 2023).

Nicole Grant, White Supremacy and the Alien Land Laws of Washington State, University of Washington (2008), Available at https://depts.washington.edu/civilr/alien_land_laws.htm (last visited Oct. 11, 2023)

Yangyang Cheng, The All-American Myth of the TikTik Spy, Wired (Aug. 9, 2023), Available at https://www.wired.com/story/china-espionage-tiktok-spying-national-security/ (last visited Oct. 9, 2023).

Diego Medoza, A Look at Which US States are Banning Chinese Nationals From Buying Property, Semafor (May. 10, 2023), Available at https://www.semafor.com/article/05/09/2023/states-banning-chinese-nationals-buying-land (last visited Oct. 12, 2023)