Seth Meyers: Biden threatens TikTok ban

Late-night talk show host Seth Meyers recently discussed President Joe Biden’s potential ban on the popular video-sharing app TikTok.

The context behind Biden’s threat to ban TikTok lies in concerns over the app’s data privacy and security practices. The app, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, has faced scrutiny from US lawmakers who worry that the company may be sharing user data with the Chinese government. In August 2020, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order that would have banned TikTok in the US unless ByteDance sold its US operations to an American company. However, the order was never fully enforced, and the Biden administration is now seeking to follow through with this order if it cannot be resolved.

In a recent episode of his show Late Night with Seth Meyers, Meyers discussed the potential ban and joked that Biden “has no use for your addictive apps.”

Meyers has previously argued that banning TikTok would be ineffective and have significant consequences for the app’s users, many of whom are young people. “It’s not just about TikTok as an app,” Meyers said. “It’s about the larger ecosystem of digital content that’s been built around it. You’re talking about an entire community of creators and users who have built their lives and careers around this platform.”

Meyers has also previously noted that a ban on TikTok would likely have diplomatic repercussions, given the app’s ties to China. “If you ban TikTok, what’s China going to do in response?” Meyers asked. “Are they going to ban American apps? This could escalate quickly.”

Overall, Meyers’ take on the potential TikTok ban is one of skepticism and concern. He sees the app as a crucial part of modern digital culture and questions the ban’s effectiveness in addressing the underlying concerns about data privacy. While the debate over TikTok’s future in the US continues, Meyers’ perspective is a valuable reminder of the broader implications of any decision to ban the app.