I would like you to consider three burning questions that don’t have easy solutions:
I am unsure that we have ever been in a state of affairs fairly like this aside from Prohibition. A product that is utilized by roughly half of People is basically unlawful because it presently exists (or shall be quickly).
Positive, different merchandise exist in a authorized grey space. Most e-cigarettes and weed that People purchase will not be permitted by the federal government or are downright towards the legislation. A few of you with tinted automotive home windows are breaking the legislation.
With TikTok, although, you at the moment are in a surreal second by which the federal authorities says TikTok is a menace to People and to the nation’s nationwide safety, however it’s additionally not telling you to dump the app.
“We’re not saying that we don’t want People to make use of TikTok,” the White Home press secretary stated Wednesday, simply after the president signed a legislation declaring that TikTok can’t exist in its present kind in the US.
Whether or not you or your youngsters use TikTok is now a private alternative.
I think about that most individuals will hold utilizing (or not utilizing) TikTok simply the way in which they did earlier than. Besides now you face the looming threat that the app may disappear someday months or years from now.
The White Home says it needs TikTok to promote to a non-Chinese language proprietor as a substitute of being banned in the US.
Will a sale occur and to whom? (Insert shrug emoji.)
TikTok stated it’s going to problem the brand new legislation in court docket. Perhaps within the subsequent few months (or years), courts will declare the TikTok pressured sale or ban unconstitutional. Perhaps they’ll say it’s constitutionally kosher.
Perhaps the authorized case will take years to resolve. TikTok and individuals who use the app will stay in limbo your complete time.
Perhaps Donald Trump shall be elected president later this yr and can attempt to cease a pressured sale or ban of TikTok.
Perhaps some wealthy dude or Walmart will sweep in to steer a purchase order of TikTok — with or with out the key pc code that tailors movies to every particular person’s tastes.
Perhaps China’s authorities will attempt to cease that from occurring.
Perhaps Earth will get clobbered by a large asteroid.
What occurs subsequent with TikTok is unpredictable. Don’t belief anybody who confidently predicts what’s going to occur.
Will the federal government attempt to ban different in style applied sciences from China?
American officers haven’t made public particular proof of why they consider TikTok poses such a dire risk of Chinese language knowledge harvesting and propaganda.
In addition they haven’t advised you ways a lot it’s best to or shouldn’t fear about different applied sciences from China.
Is it protected so that you can store on Shein and Temu, two extensively used apps that originated from China?
Is it dangerous so that you can personal a pc from Chinese language firm Lenovo or a Motorola smartphone additionally from Lenovo? Ought to your child hold taking part in the online game “League of Legends,” which is managed by Chinese language tech large Tencent?
Is it okay that just about all our smartphones and different electronics are made in Chinese language factories?
Will the federal government hold out electrical automobiles or smartphones from Chinese language manufacturers which can be inexpensive and in style in some nations aside from the US?
TikTok could also be a singular threat, given what number of People use the app and get info and information from an app managed by a Chinese language firm.
However once more, American officers haven’t been upfront with you about the place the road may be between harmful and acceptable applied sciences from China.
