So, I would not consider myself a fan of Tik Tok. I don't like influencer culture, for one -- I have seen too many videos about the effect influencer culture has on kids, and -- in many cases -- their parents' wallets. I've seen Christmas List videos where 12-year-old girls ask for multiple, incredibly expensive beauty and skin-care products that they DON'T FUCKING NEED because they're KIDS! The damage it could do to their skin in the long run doesn't matter, because their favorite influencer uses it, and therefore they need it, too. Also, as someone who works at a popular Mex-American Subway-style restaurant franchise that Tik Tok-ers LOVE to either make "hack" videos about, or video-tape and post videos of them shaming tired employees in attempts to get free food, even when those employees specifically state that they did not consent to being video-taped.
But. BUT. You know who else uses Tik Tok? Palestinians, trying to spread the truth about what they're going through. Single parents who happened to gain enough of a following that they are -- WERE -- able to support themselves and their families with the income they get from posting. What happens to those families, when their main source of income gets taken away? Will the government help them find a new job? Almost certainly not.
Also. ALSO! The whole "banned for thee, but not for me" thing. If Tik Tok was banned for national security threats, why the FUCK did Biden decide it was still okay for him and his people to continue using it for political purposes? Because a political candidate or office holder is going to be a FAR shinier target for espionage than the woman doing mukbang videos while talking about true crime (which I also have opinions on, but that's not important right now).
It's just... not a good decision. And if Trump, who is currently talking about undoing the ban, ends up succeeding? His popularity will only go up. This is one of the worst choices the DMC has made (still nowhere near as bad as the choice to give 8-fucking-billion dollars to the IDF on the way out of office, though), and I just honestly do not believe that the ban will do what they want it to do. Remember Vine? Remember how, when it was shut down, everyone who made content on the app moved over to TikTok? There are ALREADY apps available for people to move to, and many already are making that switch. And those apps? Also owned by Chinese companies, but due to being lesser known, they are also lesser protected. Is Biden gonna try and ban those, too?
So. The TLDR is basically: as much as I dislike Tik Tok, this ban was a horrible decision and will likely not do anything to stop the things the government is saying they banned it to stop.