Module 7: Control
There’s a lot of control that goes on, without us noticing it. None of this is new to me. I find it rather hard keeping track of the lack of freedom we actually have. Control through our many forms of media is a very broad topic of discussion. Where do you even start? I find myself constantly examing what’s going on with TikTok. Something as ‘small’ as an app, has caused all sorts of waves when it comes to who has control over it, and what control it has over us. “TikTok is one of the world’s most popular social media apps and is available in more than 150 markets and 75 languages. The app hit close to two billion downloads in March 2020, with 104.7 million downloads alone as of January 2020, according to market analyst Sensor Tower.” Understanding the wide visibility this app has created, only fuels my curiosity.
There was a lot of talk about Trump preparing to ban TikTok from America. This news created an uproar from all the content creators that had become really invested in using TikTok as a platform to reach a very wide audience. “In August, Mr. Trump issued an executive order that effectively mandated that TikTok sell its U.S. operations or halt transactions in the United States. ByteDance has since negotiated a deal to create a new entity, TikTok Global, in which two American companies, Oracle and Walmart, would own a 20 percent stake. But the deal has not been completed.“
I wonder if TikTok didn’t already have as many users if this information would be shown to the public. “Beyond TikTok, the Trump administration has sought to block WeChat, the popular messaging app owned by Tencent. Last month, the Commerce Department moved to block American companies like Google and Apple from hosting WeChat in their app stores, as well as bar companies from hosting its data or helping to deliver content to its users.” How many other apps have been blocked from being accessible through Google and Apple? This particular information was new to me, I hadn’t heard about WeChat being blocked.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Trump is “looking at” restricting TikTok and other Chinese social media apps in US due to national security concerns. 📱 pic.twitter.com/acLuk6AnJz — Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 7, 2020
“News” like this, shared on a social media platform, makes me see it as propaganda. When the announcements started rolling out about the possibility of TikTok being ban, it spread like a wildfire. It was all everyone was talking about on the app. I find the only reason the public was even informed of what was happening was that there were too many of us with the app already and it wouldn’t be unnoticed if it disappeared. “Will the quest for transparency always be a game of cat and mouse between major tech platforms and underresourced, independent researchers? And if an imperfect TikTok is one of the more transparent platforms, what does that say about the state of trust and consumer agency online?“
Will TikTok be banned in the US?!🇺🇸 #tiktoknews #tiktokbannednews #tiktokbanned2020 #tiktokbannedinamerica #tiktokinthenews #tiktokbanned #tiktok101 ♬ original sound – Social Media Expert!
This video is opinion-based, but also informative at the same time. And just when you thought Disney couldn’t possibly need to own anything else, “Disney CEO” was hired to run TikTok.