Article type: Opinion

Headline: There are limits that the government must not exceed
Byline: Evelyn Padovani

A bill to be introduced in the United States Senate wants to ban TikTok nationwide. Missouri
Republican Sen. Sen. Josh Hawley accuses the app of invading children's privacy and mental
health. In a tweet, he mentioned that "Last month Congress banned it on all government
devices. Now I will introduce legislation to ban it nationwide."

Hawley was the main author of the ban on the app on government devices, approved in
December, and now he wants a total nationwide ban on the use of TikTok. In a statement at
the Time, he said that "TikTok is a Trojan Horse for the Chinese Communist Party. It's a
major security risk to the United States, and until it is forced to sever ties with China
completely, it has no place on government devices."

But, is the American government really so concerned about the privacy and mental health of
children and young people? Is it mere coincidence the attempt to ban an app that was created
by China? Going back a few years and revisiting the economic relations between the two
countries, we can notice a strategic and multifaceted competition. It seems that the American
government is more aware of possible political and diplomatic risks.

We cannot say that on a privacy level the Chinese government's attitudes are the best
example. However, banning the app from the entire country seems a bit authoritarian. It
should be a private decision for each person and each family, in the case of children and
young people under the age of 18, regarding the use of TikTok. The government should not
have the power to ban or not ban the use of a social network. For this, there is individuality
and free will that must be respected.

This discussion has been in American society for some time. In early March 2022, an
investigation into the possible harmful effects of using Tik Tok was announced by several
states led by California, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey,
Tennessee, and Vermont.

Federal lawmakers and regulators have criticized TikTok, citing computer-driven content
practices and promotion that they say could endanger the physical and mental health of young
users. In Texas, for example, another investigation has emerged into possible violations of
children's privacy and facilitation of human trafficking.

Some child safety advocates maintained at the time that TikTok's computer algorithms that
select video content for users may encourage and promote eating disorders and even self-
harm and suicide for young viewers. California Attorney General Rob Bonta even said in a
press release that there was an effort to concretize whether TikTok was violating protective
laws by promoting the platform to children.

The context of the app explains a lot

Each generation is formed from certain molds of social, cultural, and political behavior, and
in fact, when looking at the current and past generations, one notices a change in lifestyle,
and not only that, a change in behavior towards relationships.

Generation Z was already born into a world dominated by technology, unlike their ancestors
who were born before the advent of the Internet. A particularity of this new generation is to
have gone through a pandemic period that lasted almost two years. It was precisely during
this time of social isolation that TikTok became a trend among young people.

Basically, the concept of Tiktok is the production of quick content, with a minimum of 15
seconds and a maximum of 3 minutes. What was already immediate within the content world
has become even more so. Since its inception, the Chinese social network has gone global
through so-called "trends", which are, briefly, a mass movement in the digital world.

According to data published by Semrush, the platform now has 1 billion monthly active
global users. There was a 1,157.76% increase in its global user base between January 2018
and July 2020; the US had a growth rate of 787.86% over the same period. India is the most
significant base, with 611 million downloads to date.

The search tool within the social network allows the user to be in constant touch with what
they like best. The "For You Page" (FYP) tab suggests content based on the preferences of
those who use it, i.e., by identifying that a certain person consumes various content about
politics, TikTok will send that account several videos on the subject. To do this, the platform
will use data that can measure interactions with specific types of content, such as likes,
comments, and shares.

The recommendation process on FYP is also based on other information, such as the topics of
interest that the person chooses when creating the profile on the platform. The captions of the
posts are also considered, as well as the hashtags chosen when posting a video. The content
itself created by the user indicates the preferences of what he or she wants to consume online.

Not everything is flowers, but freedom must exist

Despite a structure that allows some parental control over content, the widespread use of
TikTok seems to accelerate a world where everything was already too immediate. The
famous "trends", challenges, and viral dances have become the center of attention, and it is
not uncommon to walk down the street and bump into young people doing rehearsed
choreographies or appealing videos to get the "likes" so long awaited.
Before the explosion in popularity of the app, socializing among people was clearly already
all set in a digital world. However, one major change seems to have happened with TikTok:
the ease of viralizing everything.

According to more data from Semrush, there are creators on TikTok with around 100 million
followers and they make up to $5 million a year. The most popular content categories are
entertainment, dancing, pranks, fitness/sports and DIY.

Also in terms of engagement, the Chinese social network is at the top. The average user
session duration is 10.85 minutes. In 2019, for example, there were 68 billion hours spent on
TikTok. The speed with which content is presented has also changed the way other apps are
used, the marketing strategies of large companies, and even the publishing market.

In other words, we are talking about an application that, on a global level, has changed not
only the ways of interaction within the online world, but also outside of it. Other
controversies involving the network were some challenges that became popular among young
people that had the intention of cutting the oxygenation that reaches the brain until the loss of
consciousness.

There were many videos of teenagers who participated in the "trend" without knowing the
danger they were running. Among these examples, there are many others that can be
considered a risk to life and health. After all, what is the limit for conquering the Internet?
We cannot deny that the concerns about the application are valid.

What do the studies say?

As already stated, the impact of the app involves a number of issues. Among them, mental
health, anxiety, and other clinical episodes have come to be discussed on TikTok in a
widespread way, and often by lay people. This movement creates a very fertile environment
for so-called "fake news", as information can be spread without fact-checking.

A cross-sectional study on TikTok and Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder conducted

by Anthony Young of the University of British Columbia and published in "The Canadian
Journal of Psychiatry" found that of the 100 most popular videos about attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) found on TikTok, 52% were misleading. The app was also
associated with an increase in tics in teenage girls, with experts theorizing that the app's
influencers were getting young women to mimic their behaviors.

In other words, widespread use of TikTok cannot be said to be beneficial. However, whether
or not to use the app should be up to the individual subject. The government's task in this case
is to warn families and users of the possible risks (through studies and research) and to
require the application to improve privacy policies.