Will TikTok Be Banned In The U.S. Before 2021?

TikTok is one of many subsidiaries of parent company ByteDance, a Chinese tech conglomerate headquartered in Beijing, China. Over this past year, TikTok has exploded in growth as a video-sharing app with a record-breaking 315 million downloads in the first quarter of this year, according to the London Guardian.

Recently, U.S. President Donald Trump and some of the overbearing officials in his loony administration have made it clear that they consider TikTok a national security threat.

Their claim is that the app could potentially share users’ data with Chinese authorities, like a third-party spy agency. (Americans wouldn’t know anything about that.)

This is nothing new in the world of mobile apps. However, one of Trump’s leftover policies in his rapidly crumbling platform is a tough stance on China.

Banning TikTok in the U.S. Odds Breakdown

Will TikTok be banned in the USA before 2021?
Yes	+150
No	-200

TikTok is only beginning to gain traction. And while there seems to be no limit to how much money can be made from the plebs recording themselves as they lose their jobs, futures, freedom, and unemployment benefits, what else could they have to keep them occupied?

I see Trump banning TikTok out of spite. It seems that the U.S. Congress has already passed an amendment in the House to do just that, and it had an overwhelming majority.

Currently, the odds are set at Yes (+150) and No (-200) as to whether or not TikTok will be banned in the U.S. by the end of the year. What’s to hinder that from happening? American ownership of the company.

A Dwindling Relationship Between China and the U.S.

The relationship between the two superpowers has been dwindling rather quickly these past few weeks, as American officials look for someone to blame in the wake of their abysmal COVID-19 response.

Trump has only begun to send in federal agents into U.S. cities, in tandem with a state department that has upped its ante against Beijing by closing a Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas. China responded by asking the U.S. to shutter a consulate in Chengdu, a city of 16 million people.

So, it will be America’s turn to respond in this burgeoning political showdown between two egomaniacs on the world stage.

Authoritarianism: China Versus the U.S.

China has made some bold moves recently with President Xi Jinping at the helm of the Communist Party, including the doubling-down of his Nazi-like policies against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and sending a movie projector to Mars.

His political detractors have also been abducted and secretly detained as a dystopian warning to the public at large.

Something eerily similar has been happening in America as Trump cracks down on protesters, using the Department of Homeland Security as his own personal goon squad.

What does this have to do with TikTok?

Well, for one thing — the instantaneous exchange of information on TikTok is immense. ByteDance is reported to be worth in excess of $75 billion.

Is the role of the U.S. State Department here to protect American consumers from the spying of private companies? Or is this administration’s policy-decision to possibly ban TikTok just another way of jabbing at China?

Trump’s Trade War With China Has Stalled

It’s probably safe to say that Trump would love a Staples “easy” button in his case for Chinese tariffs to reinvigorate a trade war that’s been stifled by the way his administration has slow-rolled their pandemic response. Usually, the imminent closure of consulates indicates that some bad blood is brewing. So, Trump will ultimately want to play a strong hand here.

This showdown is based on economics. I see America as the weaker of the two countries due to its inability to properly articulate science and hold the public accountable for not spreading the virus there.

Desperate people do desperate things, as any gambler knows perfectly well. Trump is desperate to maintain power. Banning TikTok is one of the few chips he’s got left at the table.

TikTok was banned in India and the company pulled out of Hong Kong, after China took it over with a crack on the skull of anybody suffering from the illusion they were living in a democracy.

American investors are looking to buy a major stake in TikTok to keep it from being banned in the States. The company is international in its scope and their new CEO is a former Disney executive.

What are the odds this international video-sharing platform becomes a major bargaining chip between two world superpowers? I’m glad you asked…

Importance of Banning TikTok in the U.S.

This is bigger than I thought it might be. I’m not too fond of social media other than for engaging in self-indulgent behavior. And who knows more about that than the President?

Clearly, this is important to Trump. And I’m sure there have been all kinds of wacky, outlandish memoranda circulating the annals of the White House with rantings and ravings etched into Trump’s stationery. TikTok bad! No more TikTok! Spies! Bad! Etc.

As weird and strange as that might be to those with thinking brains, Trump has surrounded himself with people who don’t allow too much philosophical discourse to enter into their political decision-making skills.

In other words, I’m pretty convinced that the head of the U.S. State Department, former CIA chief Mike Pompeo, will be glad to carry out Trump’s directives. He’s a good bulldog. And he’s been barking at Beijing and growling for a treat.

In the U.S. some news agencies are reporting that TikTok could change hands to be acquired by American ownership. But how could that possibly happen before the end of this wild year?