The TikTok Ban: A National Security Imperative or Free Speech Overreach?
On January 17, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, effectively banning TikTok from operating in the United States. Earlier last year, President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell to a U.S. owner within a year or shut down. ByteDance filed a lawsuit against the U.S., arguing the law violated the First Amendment and overstated security concerns. Despite these efforts, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal ban, and TikTok ceased operations in the U.S. just hours before the ban took effect. President Trump then issued an executive order delaying the ban for 75 days and shielding TikTok’s business partners from liability during that period.
This ban decision follows years of growing concerns about the app's potential misuse by the Chinese government. Lawmakers have long voiced national security worries, primarily focused on the possibility that U.S. user data could be handed over to Chinese authorities. Additionally, there were fears that the app could be used to spread propaganda to millions of Americans and manipulate the public. In specific, in defending the law before the Supreme Court, the Justice Department highlighted two key national security concerns: China's collection of data from TikTok's 170 million U.S. users and its alleged ability to manipulate content on the app to advance its geopolitical interests.
Interestingly, President Trump, who had previously opposed TikTok during his first administration, announced a surprising (or not so surprising) shift in stance, after he joined the platform himself, claiming that he would work with the platform to find a solution. Trump had initially emphasized that TikTok could not be controlled by China due to security concerns, highlighting the risks of the app being "too big and too invasive." His primary focus was on the sensitive data TikTok collects, asserting that it was unacceptable for the Chinese government to gain access to such information.
For years, U.S. officials have sounded the alarm over TikTok, pointing to its potential as a tool for Chinese espionage and propaganda. More recent accusations against China’s intelligence services only amplify these fears. The Biden administration has linked Beijing to breaches of U.S. utility grids and telecom networks in operations designed to enable cyberattacks or eavesdropping. While TikTok has not been directly implicated, its potential as a pathway for Chinese cyber-actors has led to its ban on government devices and fueled calls for broader restrictions. In 2022, TikTok launched "Project Texas" to protect American users' data by storing it on servers within the U.S. in an effort to address concerns from lawmakers. However, the Justice Department criticized the initiative, stating that it was inadequate because some U.S. data continued to be transferred to China.
Critics of the Ban
The Supreme Court's decision marks a pivotal moment in the debate over banning TikTok. Proponents argue that the move is necessary to protect the nation from emerging security threats. However, critics, including the ACLU, contend that banning TikTok infringes on Americans' First Amendment rights, suppressing free expression on a platform used by over a billion people worldwide.
“Taking away Americans’ free speech rights does not make us safer; it endangers our democracy. The next administration must immediately work with Congress to fix or repeal this flawed legislation. No one should be stripped of their ability to express themselves, especially on a platform that brings together such an immense, vibrant collection of voices from around the world.” Jenna Leventoff, Senior Policy Counsel, ACLU
TikTok’s rapid growth underscores a larger issue: the regulatory gap between technological innovation and government oversight. From cryptocurrencies to artificial intelligence, policymakers have consistently lagged behind, creating fertile ground for privacy violations, misinformation, and security vulnerabilities. The TikTok debate should serve as a wake-up call for comprehensive, proactive frameworks to govern emerging technologies. Without them, the U.S. and other countries as well risks perpetually reacting to threats rather than preventing them.
Implications for other countries’ national security
There are some parallels between TikTok and previous cases involving China’s Huawei and Russia’s Kaspersky. Under President Trump, Kaspersky’s antivirus software was banned from U.S. civil and military computers in 2017 after accusations that it was used by the Russian government in a hacking incident. The U.K. quickly followed suit, and other allies eventually imposed their own restrictions, even in countries without public bans.
A similar pattern occurred with Huawei, accused of being too closely tied to the Chinese government. The U.S. raised concerns about Huawei's 5G technology potentially being used for espionage, leading to restrictions and bans in the U.S. and its allies. A former Huawei employee noted that once the U.S. made its decision, it was inevitable that other countries would follow due to intense lobbying behind the scenes.
This pattern extends to TikTok, with U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—banning the app from government devices over national security concerns. Other countries, such as Austria, Belgium, and France, have also banned the app on government devices. This suggests that when the U.S. makes a national security decision regarding a company, its allies often follow suit, indicating a growing global movement to restrict TikTok. Looking at the Global Majority countries, TikTok is already banned in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India and it has no presence in China because of its sister app Douyin. Albania implemented a year-long ban in late 2024 due to domestic issues with violence and bullying rather than the platform's ties to Chinese authorities. Last year’s Romanian presidential election raised concerns across the European Union after claims that TikTok was used to boost the relatively unknown far-right candidate Călin Georgescu. Unprecedented decision has been made to cancel the election in the middle of the second round.
The US ban decision raises another question: If TikTok poses a national security risk, should other foreign platforms be subjected to the same scrutiny? Could this set a dangerous precedent, enabling governments globally to ban foreign platforms under the guise of national security? The potential for foreign platforms to engage in misinformation campaigns or propaganda is not unique to TikTok. Other social media platforms, regardless of their country of origin, can be manipulated to influence public opinion and disrupt democratic processes. This raises questions about whether similar scrutiny should be applied to these platforms as well. Critics caution that such actions could lead to reciprocal bans, with other nations restricting U.S.-based platforms like Meta and X to protect their own sovereignty.
As the U.S. grapples with these issues, it must find a way to balance national security concerns with the freedoms that define its democracy. While banning TikTok might address one concern, a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity and data governance is essential for lasting protection in an interconnected world.
Why DeepSeek is a Different—and Potentially Greater—Challenge
Just a week after TikTok was banned and then reinstated in the U.S., another Chinese company and its application, DeepSeek, made headlines in U.S. and beyond. Its AI model quickly became the most-downloaded free iOS app in the U.S., even surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT. At the same time, chipmaker Nvidia lost a record $600 billion in market value in just one day, with investors believing DeepSeek's cheaper architecture could shake up the industry by reducing demand for Nvidia’s high-end components or forcing prices down, as it may achieve similar results at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeek’s AI models function much like ChatGPT, responding to user queries using extensive data and advanced processing power. However, they are significantly more cost-effective: the company claims its R1 model was trained for just $6 million—a fraction of the cost of similar U.S. models. But beyond the financial shock, DeepSeek raises big security questions—some similar to TikTok, but others even more concerning.
It took nearly a decade for the U.S. and other mostly allied countries to recognize TikTok as a potential national security risk, and even now, many argue whether banning it was the right move. How long will it take to understand the true risks of DeepSeek and other open AI models? And will governments even be able to regulate them? Some did not lose any time, from US Navy and NASA, to Italy, Australia, the Netherlands and South Korea, countries and institutions already placed their bans. Users have so far shown no such caution, with 10 million downloads since the launch, and 1.8 million daily active users. It has been downloaded at three times the rate of rivals such as Perplexity.
“If Americans start using DeepSeek to manage their lives, the privacy risks will be akin to “TikTok on steroids” - I think TikTok was collecting information, but it was largely benign or generic data. But large language model owners get a much deeper insight into the personalities and interests and hopes and dreams of the users.” Douglas Schmidt, the dean of the School of Computing, Data Sciences and Physics at William & Mary.
Why DeepSeek Is Harder to Control
DeepSeek has already shown signs of censorship, refusing to answer politically sensitive questions like those about Tiananmen Square and Taiwan. More worrisome is the possibility of hidden vulnerabilities—weaknesses that could be used to spread misinformation, manipulate global systems, or even create security threats. Like TikTok, DeepSeek is also subject to China’s strict data-sharing laws, meaning the government could demand access or influence its development. In fact, the founder DeepSeek attended a meeting with Premier Li Qiang on Monday, January 20, while locals expressed pride in the app's rapid rise.
“There are completely valid privacy and data security concerns with DeepSeek. But all of those are present in U.S. AI products, too.” Calli Schroeder, the AI and Human Rights lead at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
However, while DeepSeek might seem like another TikTok—a Chinese-owned tech product raising national security concerns, there’s a major difference: TikTok is a platform that governments can restrict, while DeepSeek is an open-source AI model. Anyone, anywhere, can download, modify, and use it. This makes banning or regulating DeepSeek much harder than TikTok. (while I’m writing this, two lawmakers in the U.S. have already introduced a bill “No DeepSeek on Government Devices Act” to ban the DeepSeek from any federal devices – as of February 6).
DeepSeek’s rapid rise also shows how the AI landscape is changing. In the past, governments and watchdogs focused on a few major companies—like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. But now, smaller AI startups are emerging quickly, making it much harder to track and regulate them. If TikTok was a warning sign, DeepSeek is an even bigger challenge. As AI models become more open and widespread, the question isn’t just how we control them - but whether we even can. And some might argue, whether we should.
“The underlying issue here isn't just about DeepSeek itself but the broader risk posed by software and hardware tied to entities that operate under CCP influence.” Casey Ellis, founder of cybersecurity firm Bugcrowd