This consumer alert is all about a social media juggernaut used by 170 million Americans – TikTok. And its future is now in the hands of nine justices. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today for and against banning TikTok in the U.S. Congress overwhelming passed a bill that mandates that TikTok go dark on January 19th if the Chinese owners of the app don’t divest. And lots of folks across the country, and here in Rochester will be profoundly affected by the high court’s decision.
Hope Breen is the clever content creator of “Roc the City with Hope” helping folks who live here become tourists in our own town.
“TikTok has become the biggest platform,” said Breen “It grew the quickest with 25,000 followers all in the Rochester area.”
Asked why she believes TikTok has been a better medium for her than other social media platforms she said, “I think the algorithm is just built in a way that targets people where they’re living.”
In fact, that algorithm is TikTok’s magic sauce – analyzing your interests, making recommendations, and effectively keeping you hooked. The company that invented that algorithm is the parent company of TikTok, Bytedance. Bytedance is based in China. Here’s the problem. Chinese law requires any company based in China to help the government with any of its intelligence operations. a Chinese government official even sits on the board of Bytedance.
Friday before the High Court, lawyers representing the U.S. government argued that Chinese ownership of TikTok could give the Chinese government, a U.S. adversary, access to a treasure trove of sensitive information about the millions of American users, identify Americans to spy on, and even weaponize misinformation to de-stabilize American democracy.
But TikTok’s head of Trust and Safety, Suzy Loftus, argues the company has already taken steps to protect your data.
“One of the key things that we’ve done that is voluntary and unprecedented is to work with Oracle, an American company, to store all U.S. user data for the last year and going forward,” said Loftus.
But congress argues that’s not enough, voting overwhelmingly to ban TikTok in the U.S., if the Chinese-owned Bytedance doesn’t divest.
“We are fighting the ban in the courts,” said Loftus. “We believe it’s unconstitutional and frankly, half of America finds community and magic on TikTok – 7 million businesses.”
Breen’s business is one of them. she says TikTok has literally changed her life.
“I actually it led to a career change. i was interviewed on 92-5 WBEE a year and a half ago to talk about things to do in Rochester. and then after our conversation they said Hey, have you ever thought about working in radio?”
She’s now part of the Bee Morning Coffee Club, has a blog complete with advertising, a digital guide, has published a Rochester photography book, and even has t-shirts. Her business is now a vehicle through which other small businesses can expand their brands. And she believes it likely wouldn’t have happened without TikTok.
President-elect Trump filed an unusual brief asking the justices to temporarily block the ban so he can pursue a political resolution. The court is expected to make a decision quickly. Afterall, January 19th is just nine days away.
This post was originally published on here
