On Dec. 9, Byte Dance, the owner of TikTok, filed for an Injunction against a bill that would have banned the app. The ban would affect 107 million people.
However, On Dec. 16, TikTok appealed to the Supreme Court in hopes of the bill being lifted. While many look at this ban as a good thing, many believe that removing the app in the U.S is media censorship. One person that agrees with that is Kevin Collier.
Kevin Collier, a reporter on technology and cyber security for NBC News, says that the ban on TikTok is shattering the “United States’ reputation as an international champion of free speech.”
The Liberty Justice Center says, “The application asks the Court to temporarily block enforcement of the ban while the Court considers the creators’ forthcoming petition to hear their First Amendment challenge to the law and until the Court issues a final order in the case.”
TikTok’s appeal to the Supreme Court escalates the situation further. Assuming the ban takes place, the Sage Creek students life will change, but will it be for the better or worse?
Freshman Hayley Oh says, “I think the TikTok ban is a good idea because people spend way too much time on it instead of doing more important things.” Hayley raises a good point, but banning the app might not fix the problem of people being addicted to their phone.
Though the TikTok ban will have more of an effect on students at Sage Creek, teachers have thoughts about it, too. Mr. Dexter-Torti, an AP government teacher, also raises an interesting point. “The potential ban on TikTok is interesting because of the precedent it would set in banning access to an app when many similar options are available and not under fire,” said Dexter-Torti.
The ban would directly affect TikTok but not the use of social media as a whole.
