Jordan Alcasas
Staff Writer
A recent informal survey found that 23 out of 25 University of La Verne students believe the bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S., which was signed into law this week by President Joe Biden, goes too far.
The bill – which was approved by Congress as part of the foreign aid package – will allow the Beijing-based company ByteDance, a year to sell the the app. If the company fails to sell TikTok in that time, the app will be banned from U.S. app stores.
Proponents of the TikTok bill say the app, which gathers users’ personal data, is a national security risk.
But most students surveyed seemed focused on TikTok’s pros.
The survey, which took place outside of The Spot dining hall, also considered students’ TikTok habits; 22 students surveyed said they spend over an hour daily on TikTok.
“I don’t think it’s that big of a problem,” said Oscar Mendoza, a senior business administration major. “People use it for leisure. It shouldn’t be used in a wrongful way, but the positives outweigh the negatives.”
Others said the ban will limit users’ expression.
“Though I understand the concern…banning the app (limits) peoples’ freedom of speech, as well as access to information,” said freshman creative writing major Bianca Bernal.
“I don’t really care if China has my information,” added Tess Adlam, a freshman business administration major. “I don’t think (a ban) is needed. If we’re in a war, then maybe, but right now it’s not needed.”
Not every student agreed with the majority opinion.
Some said they believe that the new law is necessary considering tension between the U.S. and China.
“To the current extent of what is occurring within the nation and other nations, since TikTok was primarily owned by China, it’s still considered a huge security risk,” Andy Garcia, a senior biology major said. “I say it’s necessary based on the precautions that have to be taken.”
Still others said the federal governments should be focused on more pressing issues.
“I don’t think that it should be banned, and we’re focusing too much on it,” said Allison McGill, a freshman kinesiology major. “There’s many more important things going on in the world right now.”
Jordan Alcasas can be reached at jordan.alcasas@laverne.edu.
Jordan Alcasas is a sophomore journalism major with a concentration in print and online journalism. He is the news editor for the Campus Times, and previously served as social media editor and a staff writer.
