Maryland residents react to federal lawmakers' efforts to ban TikTok
BALTIMORE - TikTok could be in trouble.
Congress passed a bill Tuesday to ban the popular social media app in the United States.
The President has already signed it.
"There are far worse things to be concerned about," Edgewood resident D'vyne Gattis said.
TikTok blew up during the COVID-19 pandemic. The app is known for its entertaining user-generated videos that can be scrolled through endlessly.
"Almost every kid in my grade and school uses TikTok," TikTok user Kendra Troll said.
It's popular among people in Harford County, including Troll and her friend.
"Knowing I've been using it for so many years, it's honestly weird to hear that it's going to be banned or soon not going to be around anymore," Troll said.
Lawmakers pushed for this ban because the app is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance.
They fear the country could use data from the app to spy on Americans.
"The control of the flow of information across borders is something that is impossible in many ways," JHU Professor of Political Science Renee Marlin-Bennett said.
Marlin-Bennett, who studies the politics of social media, explains why it matters on a global scale.
She believes the app's algorithm could be used to influence American users.
There is a chance TikTok won't be banned.
Lawmakers have issued an ultimatum to ByteDance, saying that if the company sells the app, it could still be used in the U.S.
Now that the bill has been signed, TikTok has a year to sell the app.
