– [Narrator] Congress is
considering banning TikTok and the proposal has
prompted widespread backlash from American users. – Oh, US government of America. You've made a big mistake. – [Narrator] But how can
you actually ban an app that has a massive digital
footprint in the US and is downloaded on millions of phones? The US has never banned a
foreign owned app before, but it can look to India as an example. After the country, which was once Tiktok's largest market by
users, banned the app in 2020. TikTok launched in India in 2016 and rapidly gained popularity
for its easy to use interface and quirky short form videos. (upbeat music) – TikTok was a really big hit in India, and it had captivated
a lot of young people who thought that this was the coolest way to exhibit their skills and talents and to gain social media followers. – [Narrator] At the time,
around 150 million people used TikTok every month in India, but the app was banned in 2020, along with several other
Chinese owned apps.

After violent clashes at
the India China border killed 20 Indian soldiers. (foreign language) – That's when the national
security establishment came up with the view that
we need to really scrutinize how much the Chinese apps and digital technology has
penetrated Indian society. TikTok was not just an
entertainment portal, it was seen as a means
for influence in India and for China to try and mold
the minds of young Indians. – [Narrator] One of
the reasons for the ban was Tiktok's Beijing
based owner, Byte Dance. According to American
interpretation of Chinese law, Byte Dance, like all companies
that operate in China, could be compelled to help
Chinese authorities spy or interfere with communications. TikTok declined to comment on this video, but has previously said it
has never shared user data with the Chinese government and would refuse to provide it if asked. Now the US is raising similar concerns. – We must protect our national security and help keep America's
private data out of the hands of our foreign adversaries. – Over this time, they've
collected all this data. They know what their users like, they know what they want to see, they know how often
they come onto the app, all these sorts of things.

And so even if the government
were to ban TikTok now, there's nothing in the bill that says they need to delete all the
previous data they've collected. – TikTok users before the ban in India did it without much
political consciousness or geopolitical understanding of the larger issues behind TikTok. Probably many of them are not even aware that their information is out there. Developing countries,
unlike more advanced, industrialized economies, then
the concerns about privacy and about sanctity of one's
own data are not that great. – [Narrator] The other
concern for both countries is that the Chinese government
could use Tiktok's algorithm to promote misinformation or propaganda. – Mr. Shou, yes or no, has, to your knowledge,
has the CCP coordinated or utilized TikTok to influence
users through algorithms, state paid content creation,
or in any other capacity? – No, they do not do that. We do not promote or remove any content on behalf of the Chinese government – Democracies, we are open societies.

We easily lap up any
international new thing that comes about in the digital era and start using those things
without any restrictions, and that makes it so much easier to penetrate democratic societies. – [Narrator] While India banned TikTok by using an executive order,
that method failed in the US when former president Donald Trump attempted a Tiktok ban in 2020. It was struck down by a judge who said, the ban likely overstepped its authority. Now, another attempt at a
ban is going through Congress where lawmakers are trying to
pass a bill that would require Byte Dance to divest
itself of the business or be banned in the US. But how do you actually ban it? Under the current bill, app stores, such as Apple and Google, would face civil penalties
if they distribute or update the app. – When you go to search
for TikTok to download it, it wouldn't be there. If you already have the
TikTok app downloaded, they cannot force you to delete the app, but the company also would
not be able to push updates to the app, and so over time,
it would become more buggy and the quality would
just become so degraded, it would become unusable.

They would also require web
hosting internet providers to block Tiktok's IP address. So you also would not
be able to access TikTok via the internet in the United States. – [Narrator] But one way users might try to bypass restrictions is
through the use of a VPN or a virtual private network. A VPN can disguise a user's location, making it look like you're
accessing the internet from a different place. So if someone lives in New York but sets their VPN to Canada post ban, theoretically they would
be able to access TikTok. – So we're really in
uncharted territory here where sure we've seen TikTok get banned on government devices, but
from a technical standpoint, they're not asking Apple
and Google to figure out which phones are government
phones and ban the app on that.

That's more a logistical
challenge internally. It's not as much what we
are talking about here, which is getting app stores
and web hosting sites to make this app completely inaccessible, and that is something that
we have not seen before. – [Narrator] Banning
TikTok would be significant for the United States because it would mark the first time the country has placed a blanket
ban on a foreign owned app. – It's really hard to ban an app like this in the United States. For one reason, we have very
strong free speech protections, and there are many social media
apps that collect our data. You know, Tiktok's not the
only one who does this. – [Narrator] Critics of the proposed ban have also voiced frustrations
that Congress is focusing on banning TikTok over
other pressing issues. – Tick, tack, toe, a winner. – Knick, knack, patty whack. I can't afford dinner. – [Narrator] In response
to the proposed ban, TikTok is attempting to shape
public opinion of the app through multimillion
dollar marketing campaigns.

– Think about the five
million small business owners that rely on TikTok to
provide for their families. – [Narrator] The app remains
popular in the United States with around 170 million American users. But cracks in Tiktok's US foundation are beginning to show. US average monthly users
between the ages 18 and 24, declined by nearly 9% from 2022 to 2023, and competition in the short
form video space is growing. – There's a lot here to be excited about. – [Narrator] Daily time
spent on Meta's Instagram has grown by 10% over the past year compared to 1% for TikTok. (lights click) The bill to ban TikTok
was passed in the House and sent to the Senate, but
it may face an uphill battle after some senators signaled
caution to the bill. If the House bill is signed into law, Byte Dance would have six months to sell off Tiktok's US
operations or face a ban. But the Chinese government has signaled it would not let a sale go through, and TikTok is expected to
challenge any new law in court. (bright music).

As found on YouTube

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