TikTok has taken the world by storm over the past few years, growing its global audience to a whopping 900 million users and counting. You can find a wide array of video content on the app, ranging from people cooking, dancing, and pontificating to breaking news and political drama. It can be quite addictive.
Meanwhile, politicians in Washington continue to raise the alarm about the potential national security risks of the app, which is owned by the China-based company ByteDance. The US House of Representatives recently voted to ban TikTok if its Chinese owner doesn’t sell it, and we’re waiting to see whether the Senate votes on the measure. But many American users seem unfazed by the political discourse as the US boasts the most users – nearly 150 million – of any country in the world.
Should people be more concerned about the Chinese government spying on them through TikTok?