my journal on the tiktok ban

hi! this is an assignment for my IB theory of knowledge class. i always get marked down like half a point for not using enough TOK terminology sigh.. i just wanted to document this on my blog to look back on later and maybe improve cause it's something i find interesting. i'm not too proud of this writing so i'd rather it not be taken seriously (i didn't do much research or spend as much time on this as i should have this is actually uhh a late assignment whoops)

Earlier this year, ByteDance’s TikTok was banned for users in the United States. Remarkably, however, this ban only lasted a day. Legislators were concerned that the Chinese government had too much leverage over American citizens due to the app’s popularity in the United States. Additionally, American users were allegedly being surveilled by the foreign executives, despite the parent company’s reassurance that the Chinese government does not have any stake. The American government therefore posed an ultimatum; either ByteDance gave control of the social media platform to American investors or TikTok would be banned. In what was supposedly an attempt to protect the privacy of American citizens, President Trump personally led the negotiations for a group of investors handpicked by himself to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. The current deal was made with the direct approval of China’s President Xi Jinping and ByteDance representatives were notably absent. 

From the beginning, these investors planned to be given power over the algorithms and what type of videos users would see on the app. Regardless of the absurdity or legitimacy of the ban, I think the situation opens up a whole new discussion on the acquisition of knowledge and the implications of knowledge being withheld from the general public. The governments of our societies are responsible for maintaining the rights to free speech and our ability to share and exchange ideas. Issues arise when governments limit privately owned companies on evidence and claims that are uncertain or unverified. When justification becomes a means to an end, the pursuit of truth is replaced by a pursuit of influence. Truth and belief become secondary to persuasion, and information is shaped to serve the narrative. In this sense, there is no knowledge when the information is suppressed and filtered— it is no longer justified, true, or genuinely believed.

There is a huge power gap between the citizens and their government. If an official can choose to surround themselves with only those in favor of their policies and make decisions that can censor and therefore withhold information and knowledge from the people, the system is failing those people. Culture is built around the public’s interpretation and values, without open access to that information the foundation of culture erodes.