Chinese app emerges as popular–and controversial–tool for U.S. protesters

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By Emily Sebiri

One of the newest and most popular tools used by activists is coming under increasing scrutiny by government agencies and watchdog groups, who cite concerns about privacy and national security because of its ties to China.

The United States is considering banning TikTok, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News this week.

People should only download the app “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party,” Pompeo said.

Branches of the U.S. military already have banned TikTok, described by Forbes as the world’s most downloaded mobile, non-game app in January and February 2020.

A TikTok spokesperson told CNN such concerns are unfounded. The company notes that its CEO is American and its data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore.

“We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users,” TikTok said in a statement responding to Pompeo’s assertion.

TikTok fans say the app allows people from around the globe to share their experiences via short videos.

What sets apart TikTok from other social media platforms, users say, is its “For You” page. Tailored to your likes and dislikes, it shows content from members around the world, regardless of whether you follow them.

“I’ve been able to hear and see personal stories about what people have endured during the protests, to spread awareness regarding the deaths of people of color all over the world,”  said Morristown High graduate Caroline Corry, now a student at the University of Richmond.

“I have taken college courses and high school courses that have spoken about these issues academically. But on a day-to-day basis, I am learning new things from people on TikTok that I would have never seen on the other social media sites that I used to use regularly,”  Corry said.

Morristown resident and activist Indira Summerville said access to information on TikTok and other platforms has empowered people to fight for Black lives.

TikTok’s popularity has soared since its introduction in 2017. Source: Adweek

“With the youth, including Generation Z and Millennials, essentially being well versed on social media and the ways in which different platforms can be used, so much important information has been spread like wildfire, not only throughout the country but around the world,” said  Summerville, a student at Johns Hopkins University.

The popular song This Is America by Childish Gambino, whose music video and lyrics portray his view on the African American experience in America, is one of many anthems being used in the background of TikToks to draw attention to racial injustice.

RECORD GROWTH

TikTok started to take off about a year after its September 2017 release.  Owned by ByteDance, a tech company in Beijing, it earned $3 billion in 2019, according to Bloomberg.  Revenue comes from short video  ads similar to the videos users are making.

Its 315 million downloads in the first quarter of 2020 are the most by any app in a single quarter, according to Sensor Tower.

Critics of TikTok find it troubling that activists are trusting a product from a country that represses dissent.

TikTok encountered a backlash after the killing of George Floyd, with many users complaining their pages were not showing Black Lives Matter content.

The company had tweaked its community guidelines to disallow images of guns in videos, thus prompting removal of  many protest videos because of police officers’ guns.

T’Anna Kimbrough, founder of Black Lives Matter Morristown, said TikTok “doesn’t have any advantages over other social media platforms outside of its sheer popularity.”

TikTok tops downloads from the Apple Store. Source: Appinventiv

The Intercept and the Guardian newspaper also have scrutinized TikTok for suppressing the voices of ‘ugly, poor, or disabled users by hiding or unevenly distributing their content on the For You page.

TikTok users figured in national politics last month, striking a blow to the Trump campaign via viral videos calling on people to reserve tickets for the president’s rally in Tulsa —  with no intention of attending.

Trump failed to fill a 19,000-seat arena in Oklahoma, a red state.

Through 15-60 second video clips, TikTok has given young people a platform to share ideas.  Missteps can be costly, however, as a Morristown-Beard student learned last month.

Her admission to Colgate University was rescinded after she posted a TikTok video that Colgate’s president described as “an affront to our core values as a place of higher education.”

Against a backdrop of a Google search on the term “African Americans,” the student is seen in the video saying: “Hey loser, we’re going shopping!” More than 2,000 people signed an online petition demanding her ouster by the university.

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