Congress overwhelmingly passed a bill on March 20 that would force TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell or divest the platform, or face exclusion from U.S. app stores and web hosting services. Many members of the Utica University community aren’t happy about it.

The Senate will soon decide the future of this app, and if the bill is approved, parent company ByteDance will have 165 days to comply.

There has been a flurry of controversial issues around the bill. The argument in favor of the app is that China may pose a security risk because it has access to the data of millions of Americans. On the other hand, others believe that the app is useful for a variety of reasons, including news flow, commercial profit and entertainment purposes. 

Daniel Tagliarina, professor of political science, said that it is a “bad look for the branch” in regards to targeting TikTok and not applying the same pressure to U.S. based social media platforms that essentially do the same thing. 

“This is a bill, not a law, and the Senate is not likely to move quickly, and seems against the bill,” Tagliarnia said. “The whole thing is about China far more than it is about TikTok, and it shows a bit of hypocrisy as lawmakers are not taking seriously the same practices that they accuse TikTok of when done by domestic companies.”

Some Utica students expressed concern about the app’s potential banning since it serves as a platform to get information or a good laugh. 

“I definitely do not approve of the ban, I find TikTok very helpful especially when connecting with others since it allows everyone to come together on one platform,” junior Meghan Sonnachio said. “I find myself always laughing with my friends about the TikToks we make together or other TikToks that we all see on our for you pages.” 

Freshman Jacob Collea said people will be disappointed in the ban because various age groups use the app for different purposes. 

“I disagree with the ban as people use it for informational purposes,” Collea said. “For instance, I look up many videos about firefighting, workouts, recipes and also important updates on things going on in the world today.”

Tagliarina said this issue is not “straightforward” since there are potential layers of First Amendment arguments but they are not strong claims because China cannot exercise free speech in the U.S and corporate speech is treated differently based on the circumstance. 

 “I think a ban on TikTok likely would not have significant economic disruptions for the country, but would be felt significantly by influencers and businesses who have built their brand there,” Tagliarina said. “What is undeniable is that many young people get their news from TikTok and a ban would disrupt that flow of information.”