TikTok has become an increasingly more popular social media platform. Since the raise in popularity during 2020, there have been concerns about the personalized algorithms the app uses. TikTok uses an algorithm that makes a costume “For You Page” to each individual based on previous likes and hashtags viewed. This system is used on many different platforms, however TikTok is the one under the most heat. There are claims that, since it is an app created and run in China, the Chinese government could be using it to collect data on Americans. These claims have yet to be proven true. The main claim to ban the app is not that of national security, but of controlling citizens. 

  America is known as the land of the free and the rights of its citizens are protected by its founding documents. However, with the creation of the internet, freedom is much more difficult to regulate. The banning of TikTok will not simply lead to anger, but to the opening of the question, what else can the government control? With the recent proceedings regarding the possible banning of the app, it is prevalent that the government is concerned with the freedom the app has created. TikTok has surged in the industry in recent years and even surpasses certain apps in popularity. As it has become more relevant in pop culture, concerns about its “safety” have also risen. The difference between this app and the other popular social media apps is who runs it and who can control it. Since most other apps such as Facebook and Instagram are headed in the United States, this makes it easier for the government to set regulations on it. However since TikTok is centered in China, the U.S. government is not able to control it in the ways they wish, thus leading to the ban. 

  The U.S. government seems to have a deep problem with any system created outside of the U.S., especially in China, despite having such close connections to the nation. Congress has been using the words of “national security” and “concern” to hide the fact that they are more worried about the lack of control they have in this circumstance. If the app were to be banned, this could open a threshold of other apps and websites that the government would be able to control. This is why the banning of TikTok would create further government control on what citizens have access to on the internet.