By Juliana Vasquez | News Writer
After years of controversy and debate, the social media platform TikTok remains untouched as a result of an agreement between the Trump administration and China.
TikTok is known for its contributions to the rise of influencer culture, its successful algorithm and its threat to national security as a foreign-run platform. Over the last year and a half, policymakers have debated how to address the rising security concerns the app poses to U.S. users.
The Trump administration and China appear to finally have a deal to keep the platform live for U.S. users, though. Under the agreement, a group of U.S.-backed investors will own the majority of the company and TikTok’s algorithm will be retrained, with the deal expected to be approved through an executive order.
Dr. Colby Humphrey, a political science lecturer, said the largest concern regarding TikTok stems from its parent company, ByteDance, which is reportedly influenced by the Chinese government.
“It’s more of a security component, both from a cybersecurity standpoint of potentially tracking Americans’ behavior online and also [the] ability to influence public opinion in terms of what is promoted on the platform,” Humphrey said.
Dr. Lourenco Paz, an associate professor of economics and the director of the international business program at Baylor, went more in-depth about how the algorithm tracks users’ interests on social media platforms.
“They try to learn from the things you watch on those platforms,” Paz said. “They try to figure out what you like, and they start showing you suggestions about things you watch.”
Paz said the U.S. government may have a couple different concerns regarding TikTok and the threat it poses to Americans. The data collected from TikTok could be used to harass American citizens or influence what citizens see on their feeds. Paz also said the American government may just be trying to eliminate a foreign media competitor.
“TikTok is competing with other platforms in the U.S., like Facebook or Instagram, and the current administration feels that it’s their job to help American companies vis-à-vis the rest of the world,” Paz said.
Paz said this exchange of ownership doesn’t come without concessions on the United States’ side, though.
“When you get into international relations, you never force somebody to do something else. You always exchange something,” Paz said. “So we will find out what China asked for in exchange … [but] it may take some time for us to find out what actually happened.”
For now, though, Baylor students don’t have to worry about TikTok vanishing from our screens. However, this agreement does have the potential to set a precedent for how other American policymakers receive foreign tech companies.
“I think if there are ever national security concerns with technology being used by Americans that’s coming from other countries, I think that could set a precedent for something like this happening again … but we’ll have to see what other technology there is,” Humphrey said.
