SAN JOSE, CALIF—In Late 2022, Joe Biden signed legislation to prohibit TikTok on government devices, and on March 23, 2023 TikTok C.E.O Shou Chew testified before Congress to address the controversy.

One of the main concerns of TikTok raised by the senators was that TikTok could potentially share data on users with the Chinese Government. This concern came from the fact that a Chinese company named ByteDance owns TikTok. TikTok has consistently denied claims of sharing data on users with the Chinese government and tried to make it clear that it stores data on users in the U.S. and Singapore.

Chew has stated that they implemented age gating and parental controls because “TikTok takes the protection of minors seriously.” Though Chew has talked about this, Senators showed concern that age gating and parental controls might not be as effective as they think.

Congress is pushing to ban TikTok because they believe it collects too much data on users. During Chew’s time testifying against Congress, arguments by Congress have been things such as, “Does TikTok access your home wifi?”They also ask ,”How do you determine age?” 

During and after the hearing, memes and TikToks started pouring out making fun of the situation. Some were laughing at the situation and some were furious, calling Congress unprofessional. People called Congress unprofessional because when they asked Chew a question, he was not given time to answer.

TikTok has become a big part in the lives of many. 1.05 Billion people across 154 countries have TikTok and out of 10 Silver Creek students 8 have TikTok downloaded. So this begs the question: should TikTok be banned?

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