Quick note- ByteDance is has decided to implement the ban by flagging ‘US Accounts’- that is accounts created with a US phone number. If you created your account with an international phone number, using a VPN should still give you access. I’m doing some more research on the implementation and will update this post when I find more info.
Why is TikTok Getting Banned?
The root of the problem is that the company who owns it, ByteDance, is Chinese.
“So what?” you might be thinking. All sorts of apps are owned by foreign companies, what makes this app and China so special? China has a law that requires social media companies to “assist or cooperate” with the government’s “intelligence work”. There is also a law to give the Chinese government “the power to access and control private data.” The immense popularity of TikTok shows the problem- any data that TikTok/ByteDance has is accessible to the Chinese government.
What data does TikTok collect?
In short- a lot. Some of the data depends on what device you are using and what permissions you allowed when you first downloaded the app, but they collect data that a lot of other apps don’t, including the content of user’s messages. Not just the metadata (the fact that a message exists between you and a friend)- the actual contents of what you said.
If you allowed access to your contacts to find friends who use TikTok, ByteDance has access to all of that data. That means that even if you aren’t a TikTok user, if you are in someone’s contacts who IS a TikTok user (which is very likely), they may already have your name, email, photo, address, phone number, and anything else that the person has saved in your contact.
Is China actually accessing this data?
We don’t know, and obviously China and ByteDance deny it. But is it worth the risk?
Arguements against the ban
After talking with some TikTok users, I came to an interesting understanding beyond the normal concerns of taking away people’s livelihoods who are content creators. What I heard from several people is that they don’t get what is so bad about China. In other words, they don’t see China as the enemy as so many of us do. China isn’t the one shooting up their schools and doing nothing to prevent that from happening. China isn’t the one denying affordable healthcare. China isn’t the one taking away their civil rights. China isn’t the one pushing home ownership further and further out of reach (this one is debatable but at least it isn’t a direct correlation).
I really hadn’t thought of it that way before. When people spoke about not wanting TikTok banned despite the security risks it poses, I will admit that I simply assumed naivety. But there is a lot more to it than that. When I explained to one of the people I talked to the geopolitical tensions with China, they did understand the concern. But overall, a lot of people my age and younger just don’t see China as an enemy in the same way that our leaders do.
How to access TikTok despite the ban
Legal notice- The following instructions are provided for informational use only and are not intended to be used by citizens or residents of any state or territory in which access to TikTok is banned by law. By reading these instructions you assume all liability for your own actions.
So you either skipped over everything above or you still want to go ahead and access TikTok. Here’s how you do it.
1. Do Not Uninstall The TikTok App.
The app won’t be available for download on the Apple App Store or the Google Play store, but it can’t be removed from your device unless you do it yourself. If you do uninstall it, you’ll have to change the region of your app store to a country where the app is allowed and redownload it that way. It’s an inconvenience but not difficult to do.
2. Download a VPN
I’m working on a piece about whether commercially available VPNs actually improve your internet security, but in this case, they are absolutely useful. There are a whole bunch of VPNs available- Surfshark, Express VPN, NordVPN, etc. Download one of those on your device and follow the steps to install the VPN profile.
You can get a deal on a NordVPN subscription from my friend Petter from Mentour Pilot by clicking here: https://nordvpn.com/pilot (not sponsored content).
NOTE: You can’t post videos via a VPN from a country where TikTok is banned as ByteDance can track your IP location and your videos will not have any reach and may be flat out removed. You can still watch videos, leave comments, and send messages as you normally would.
3. Turn on your VPN and open the TikTok app. Enjoy.
There aren’t any penalties in the law for accessing TikTok via a VPN, so you’re in the clear.
NOTE: VPNs can cause other apps to not work properly. If you’re having issues with another app, try disconnecting your VPN. Just remember to reconnect it before reopening TikTok.
The newspaper that I read most frequently is The Brookings Register. Monday’s edition had the headline ‘Worst mass shooting in U.S.’ as the full-color feature story above the fold. Obviously, the Register didn’t have a reporter at the scene in Orlando, so instead they published the reporting of Jason Dearen of the Associated Press. The piece is accurate and