Few things highlight the absolute disconnect between political elites and new generations more than the obsession they have developed in the United States with TikTok, the social network used not only by Gen Z, but also by Alpha and part of the Millennial generation. What started as a shot in the dark, trying to ban it across the country (and which no one took very seriously) has become not only a possible reality, but a more than likely future.
#WhatIsHappening?
It started as a boast using the “Chinese control” of TikTok as an excuse and has ended up in court. In fact, ByteDance, the company that runs the social network, only has until January 19 (that is, just over a month) to disassociate from it if it wants it to continue existing in the country. And if it refuses, the United States will block it, causing chaos among the youth.
There were doubts about it, but ByteDance’s appeal has ultimately not succeeded and has not allowed it to continue, providing the following argument: “The First Amendment exists to protect freedom of expression in the United States. Here the Government intends to protect that freedom from an adversary foreign nation with the intention of limiting the ability of that adversary to obtain data from people in the United States.”
Come on, explain to Johnny, a 12-year-old, that he won’t be able to do choreographies and watch memes anymore because China exists. He will understand it right away, and it will absolutely not have any political repercussions in the future. Let’s remember that 170 million people use TikTok in the United States, and their only salvation seems to be Donald Trump, who uploaded videos to the platform throughout his massively successful presidential and promised to “save it.” How, without breaking the separation of powers, is a mystery for now. For the moment, it might be time to build some sort of Bluesky for TikTok, because things don’t look good.
