Louisiana's "Ban" on TikTok: What to Know

by Lucas Faircloth, Class of 2023 | January 2023

Kids and cell phones are as inseparable as peanut butter and jelly. However, lawmakers and educators are raising alarms about the platforms they may be using. Since state governments are seemingly banning apps like TikTok from devices, parents are asking if they should follow suit.

While the videos kids watch aren't a threat to national security, many families are beginning to have discussions about limiting or outright eliminating certain kinds of media.

(Note: the above photo was staged; our students read the Student Handbook very well and know that they're not allowed to use their phones as soon as they step onto campus. Credit Mr. Alex Cormier)

In December of 2022, the Louisiana Secretary of State, Kyle Ardoin, issued a ban on the popular social media app TikTok on any devices issued by his agency, and other state agencies have begun to follow suit. A total of 24 states have banned TikTok from state owned devices. As of December 20, 2022, the federal government has begun legislation to make this ban official for their devices and Louisiana intends to start legislation of their own on this issue starting in April.

With all of this federal and state action taking place against the app, the obvious question is why, for an app better known for viral dances, cute pets, and hot takes, is it considered to be so dangerous as to ban it outright?

For starters, this ban only extends to devices that have been provided to government workers by the government, not their personal devices, which means that any sort of ‘ban’ on TikTok won’t actually affect their U.S. user base. The reason for ban is because of security concerns the app poses to the data of the American government. TikTok's owner, Chinese company ByteDance, is considered a private enterprise in Mainland China. However, due to the way that China’s government is run gives their government a significant degree of control over privately-owned businesses.

This has become a cause for concern for the US government as they believe that the Chinese government could use TikTok to collect the data of American government officials.

(Credit: Solen Feyissa\nsolen.feyissa@gmail.com | Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0)

Former President Donald J. Trump raised eyebrows in 2020 when he called for a ban of certain Chinese-based apps and services like TikTok. This sentiment has slowly been gaining traction in many state governments and legislation is being drafted on the federal level. (Credit: Gage Skidmore | Flickr CC-BY SA 2.0)

TikTok has had a few controversies in the past for their data collection practices. While the higher-ups in TikTok assure their users that their data is secure, the U.S. government doesn’t want to take the risk.

While the call for banning TikTok on government devices has been rooted security concerns, there's likely a fair amount of political jockeying happening around this issue as well. Since the suggestion of a ban by former President Donald J. Trump, the position has seen itself all across the political spectrum.

As for any average consumer of TikTok though, these bans likely won’t affect you in your personal life. If the legislation for banning TikTok goes through, it will only ban TikTok on government-issued devices. This ban may then find its way into other sectors of government, including education. Archbishop Shaw already has bans in place for many social media both on a network and hardware-level.

Consumers should take a moment to ask themselves, however, what it is they're consuming. TikTok is not unique in the fact that they harvest data: nearly every internet service we use does so on a daily basis. The idea makes sense: companies can use this data to make better products and services. However, what the company does with our data behind closed doors is another story. Parents, especially, should take into consideration that the popular apps their children are using might be collecting their data. While some parents may decide to ban TikTok in their own homes, having an open and honest conversation with their children can go a long way in helping them process the things they may see online.

So you can continue to scroll for unhealthy amounts of time on your favorite social media site... on second thought, maybe not.

Lucas Faircloth (Class of 2023) was born and raised in Westwego, LA. He is a member of the Robotics clubs, the Esports club, the Chess club, the Science National Honors Society, and the National Honors Society.

Sources

"Louisiana officials escalate TikTok bans as concerns grow over China's influence" | https://www.theadvertiser.com/story/news/2023/01/03/heres-why-louisiana-is-escalating-tiktok-ban-on-government-devices/69772987007/
"What you need to know about Louisiana's TikTok ban" | https://www.wafb.com/2022/12/30/what-you-need-know-about-louisianas-tiktok-ban/
"TikTok ban for U.S. government phones advances, threatening its ad revenue, experts say" | https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-lawmakers-include-ban-tiktok-government-devices-sources-2022-12-20/
"Brumley latest to urge TikTok ban citing lack of data privacy: 'Extremely concerning'" | https://www.nola.com/news/education/schools-chief-urges-tiktok-ban/article_c6e2329e-8b7e-11ed-a38e-3b5048d9f264.html

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