Is TikTok Getting Banned In The U.S. In 2023?

There's been a lot of talks online lately about TikTok getting banned in the United States in 2023. While these worries first started to pick up in 2020 after then-President Donald Trump floated the idea, worries have increased lately following the reveal of a controversial new bill that would seemingly let President Biden ban the app in the U.S. Here's what you need to know.

Is TikTok Getting Banned In The U.S. In 2023?

Throughout 2022, some U.S. states began banning TikTok from federal government devices over concerns that the Chinese government is collecting data on U.S. citizens through the app, with government devices assumedly being a prime target. That July, TikTok reportedly admitted that Chinese employees can access U.S. user data, which increased calls for the app to be banned in the U.S.

These government bans have proven popular, with the White House reportedly ordering government agencies to remove TikTok from their devices in 30 days and Canada and Europe following suit. However, what has people more worried is a proposed bill that will seemingly allow for the ban of TikTok on all U.S. devices.

Bill H.R. 1153 is reportedly being voted on today, February 28th, 2023 and is expected to pass in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. However, if it does pass it still has to pass in the Senate, which is a Democratic majority, making the bill's fate a little more dubious.

Regardless, this is arguably the closest the U.S. has come to banning TikTok and if this bill does pass the House and Senate, U.S. citizens may just have to say goodbye to the app.

Why Does The U.S. Government Want To Ban TikTok?

The big reason why some U.S. government workers want to ban TikTok is over fears that China, notably TikTok's parent company ByteDance, is collecting data on U.S. citizens using the app and potentially feeding it to the Chinese Communist Party.

This has always been the main reason that the government wants to ban the app. TikTok even partnered with Oracle back in 2020 to try and calm these fears, although many still seem to be concerned. The Washington Post recently reported that a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said these fears are evidence of "U.S. insecurities."

Since bill H.R. 1153 was announced, TikTokers have been sharing mixed, but mostly negative, reactions to it, with many worried about their favorite app becoming inaccessible in the country. It's also received mixed reactions offline, with the ACLU reportedly urging the government not to ban the app as it could be a violation of U.S. citizens' free speech. Right now, all we can really do is wait and see what happens.

For the full details on the U.S. TikTok ban, be sure to check out our entry here for even more information.