TikTok trends may soon be a thing of the past.

Thank goodness.

The United States Congress has recently expressed concern about the security of the popular social media app, and has put forth efforts to ban TikTok in the United States.

According to the New York Times, the White House told federal agencies February 27 that they had 30 days to delete the app from government devices. They also restricted federal officials from using the app. Additionally, March 4 a House committee put forth legislation to allow the President to ban TikTok nationwide.

We aren’t the only country taking steps to ban the platform: Canada, Britain and the British Parliament, the executive arm of the EU, France, New Zealand’s Parliament, and Australia have also recently banned the app from official devices. India banned the app back in 2020.

So what’s the cause of all this commotion? Well it all boils down to China. I know: surprise surprise.

TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, and recently there have been concerns among western nations that the company may be putting “sensitive information” (like users’ location information) into the hands of the Chinese government. China has laws in place that demand data from Chinese companies and citizens for intelligence-gathering purposes.

TikTok has denied such allegations and has proposed to the US government plans to safely operate the app in the country and deal with security concerns. TikTok now has two options: cut all ties with ByteDance and stay in the US, or face a possible ban.

The Trump Administration previously tried to ban TikTok in 2020, but the motion was blocked by Congress.

This time around, banning TikTok has become a bipartisan issue.

One of the major concerns by critics is that the ban would be an infringement on the First Amendment.

I don’t disagree with that claim; however, when national security is concerned, banning TikTok is definitely justifiable. I am a strong believer in the value and necessity of the First Amendment; it’s one of the bedrock principles that makes our country so great because we have the right to voice our opinions without fear of persecution. It’s the reason I have the right write this article. However, if TikTok’s parent company is handing over Americans’ personal information, especially America's youth (25 percent of users are under 18, 50 percent are age 16-30) to the Chinese government, it’s time we say enough is enough.

If TikTok chooses to cut ties with ByteDance, then great, call off the legislation. But if they choose the other side of the ultimatum, then they brought that on themselves. Don’t let them violate the privacy of American citizens and the U.S. government. American citizens are more important than TikTok videos.