Depending on whom you ask, the short-form video platform TikTok is either a showcase for goofy dances and makeup tutorials or a sophisticated threat to US national security. Because TikTok Inc. is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance Ltd. — and because China requires its companies, upon request, to share any national security-related data with the government — TikTok’s popularity among Americans carries implications beyond the mobile-phone screen. That’s on top of handwringing by parents, educators and mental-health experts about whether TikTok’s content and addictive nature are unhealthy for young minds.
All social media platforms collect user data. But TikTok is viewed as the most advanced, and uncannily effective, at learning about your interests — based on how long you stay with a video and whether you like, forward or comment on it. That enables its algorithm to deliver more items of interest to what it calls the “For You” feed. The resulting stream of diverse yet personalized content can be intoxicating enough that it’s hard to stop scrolling. Two-thirds of American teens use TikTok every day, according to a 2022 Pew Research Center survey, with 16% saying they’re on the platform almost constantly.
