Should it stay or should it go?
A looming April 5 deadline for TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to divest its holdings or be shut down revives a controversial battle. Free speech advocates and millions of American TikTok users who practically have a codependent relationship with the video-sharing app are facing off with national security concerns and impacts on children’s mental health. Will TikTok stay, or will it go?
Spying on Children?
The controversy over TikTok was spurred by concerns that the Chinese government may spy on or influence Americans, especially youth. Impressionable young people are susceptible to algorithmic manipulation, and TikTok is arguably a threat to their mental health. Yet free speech concerns are legitimate – if Americans want to view Marxist content, that is their…
