A potential TikTok ban is on the horizon as the United States Supreme Court considers an important decision this week. This case has implications that extend beyond the US and a single app. It affects the security and livelihoods of millions and raises concerns about the future of a free and open Internet. This action could establish a troubling precedent, undermining the principles of a globally connected Internet—one that is open, secure, and trustworthy.
The Internet Society has repeatedly warned that banning online services and apps splinters the Internet and can be dangerous. It’s a counterproductive global trend that threatens national security, economies, and personal safety. The aims of such bans can often be accomplished in other ways with less collateral damage.
The US government claims a ban is necessary for national security reasons. There are legitimate concerns, including data security and potential manipulation of feeds. Investigations found TikTok employees misused journalists’ data and mishandled sensitive financial data on creators and advertisers. The app’s parent company suppressed political and other sensitive content and influence operations have been identified.
While these are serious concerns, banning individual apps and services can make things worse and create new risks for national security.
Banning one app won’t prevent people from migrating to another service without solving the broader privacy, security, and speech concerns that exist on many other apps and services.
People and businesses will also be determined to find workarounds to access banned services, making themselves and everyone they interact with more vulnerable to harm. Bans open the door to scams, malicious downloads, insecure connections, and risky apps that fly under the radar.
Attempting to address security and privacy concerns one app at a time is ineffective and potentially harmful. Countries should instead look to comprehensive privacy and collaborative security measures to protect people online and strengthen the foundation of an open, global Internet.
The Far-Reaching Effects of App and Service Bans
Billions of people around the world rely on the connectivity and opportunity that an open Internet enables. The more countries block or ban specific apps and services, the less the Internet can deliver on that promise. Instead, people’s experiences online—connecting with friends, learning, creating, earning income, and enjoying entertainment—will become increasingly insular and inconsistent from country to country.
The US is not the first country to try this misguided strategy to address privacy and security online.
India banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese-linked apps in 2020 following a border skirmish between the two militaries. TikTok has never been available in mainland China and was banned in Hong Kong. Senegal banned the app in 2023 after an opposition candidate was accused of spreading “hateful and subversive messages.” Nepal lifted a ban last year. Albania announced a ban in December that is expected to go into effect in the coming weeks.
Those are just a few examples among many. A US Supreme Court decision could accelerate this dangerous trend of countries targeting individual apps and websites worldwide, further eroding the global Internet.
Millions of people and businesses rely on the app. In the US alone, a TikTok-commissioned study by Oxford Economics found the app contributed more than $24 billion and 200,000 jobs to the economy in 2023.
Trying to address security and privacy threats online with national bans is like playing an expensive, dangerous game of “whack-a-mole.” Governments should be clear about risks and raise the privacy and security standards of all online services and app stores to mitigate potential threats. The more countries try to address their concerns one app at a time, the less they will contribute to a healthy Internet.
Learn more about other policies like this that threaten the Internet that we all know and love and the work that the Internet Society and our community do to stop them.
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