TikTok, a video-sharing social networking service, is at risk of being shut down if the Trump administration has its way.

TikTok users create short looping videos of music, dance, comedy and talent up to one minute long to be shared on social media.

CNBC says TikTok has about 100 million monthly active U.S. users, up nearly 800 percent from January 2018.

According to TikTok, it has about 50 million daily active U.S. users.

The company is based in Beijing and is owned by ByteDance.

On Aug. 6, President Donald Trump addressed the perceived threat posed by TikTok by issuing an executive order taking effect Sept. 15, banning the use of TikTok in the United States. In his executive order, he said, “TikTok automatically captures vast swaths of information from its users, including Internet and other network activity information such as location data and browsing and search histories. This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information - potentially allowing China to track the locations of federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail and conduct corporate espionage.

“The risks are real,” Trump said.

In response, TikTok filed a lawsuit Aug. 24 against the U.S. government, saying the company was not given the opportunity to defend its operations.

“We do not take suing the government lightly; however, we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights and the rights of our community and employees,” TikTok said.

TikTok continued, “The executive order would eliminate 10,000 American jobs and irreparably harm the millions of Americans who turn to this app for entertainment, connection and legitimate livelihoods that are vital especially during the pandemic - we simply have no choice.”

In fact, TikTok was downloaded 315 million times from January through March, according to Sensor Tower, an analytics company. TikTok now has 2 billion downloads overall.

There are commercials on television of people filming TikToks and celebrities say they regularly view TikToks to look for special talents. I have seen some of the videos families have made together - they are very creative.

TikTok said it stores its U.S. user data separately from the user data of other ByteDance products, according to a CNBC article.

Both Microsoft and Oracle have been in talks to buy TikTok’s operations in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but the Sept. 15 deadline set by Trump is approaching quickly.

In an article on NPR Aug. 27, it was announced Walmart has joined Microsoft in a bid to buy TikTok, citing a boost to Walmart’s online presence.

Sixty-six percent of TikTok users are under the age of 30.

What will happen when 100 million users under the age of 30 will not be able to use this video-sharing networking service if a sale does not go through by Sept. 15?

We are still in the midst of a pandemic. People are still in their homes and perhaps using this form of social media to release some pent-up energy.

Many of the other social media apps have been compromised - why target this particular app?

I do not have a TikTok account. It’s all I can do to keep up with Facebook, email and sometimes Instagram. I have no desire to have my klutziness and craziness documented on social media for all to see. But I’m old.

I understand my son, and people his age, use TikTok and enjoy what people share. He said TikTok is the defining culture of Gen Z, those born between 1996 and 2010.

I’m no expert, but it doesn’t seem logical to me to ban a social media platform with 100 million monthly users during a pandemic - and this close to an election.

I have learned people have long memories when it comes to taking something away they enjoy. I’m not sure this is such a smart move on the part of the Trump administration.

Debbie Galbraith

editor

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press