Among the many items tucked away in the $1.7 trillion spending bill Congress is working to pass to fund the government next year is a small victory for enemies of TikTok: Users of government-owned phones and devices will not be allowed to install the video app and must remove it if installed.
The move, championed by Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, is mostly symbolic, my colleague Sara Morrison reported, since the app is already banned at a few agencies and departments, and would only apply to employees of the executive branch of government. “It doesn’t ban the app on phones of employees of other branches, like members of Congress or their staff,” she wrote. That means the handful of members of Congress, staffers, and interns who use the app to communicate with constituents or to share a behind-the-scenes look at how the federal legislature works may still be free to do so.
The executive branch ban would be the latest victory for the bipartisan wing of members of Congress who have been critical of the social platform for its Chinese ownership and potential cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party (if it were to ask for user data). Reporting from The Verge and the New York Times this year backed up the concerns, finding instances of ByteDance employees having improper access to user data, including journalists. A BuzzFeed investigation also found that China-based employees of ByteDance accessed “nonpublic data about US TikTok users.”
At the same time, it foreshadows the challenge America’s (older) political class will have in trying to explain themselves to younger Americans — and future voters — if momentum to crack down on TikTok builds.
Both Republicans and Democrats, especially in the Senate, have expressed skepticism that TikTok’s China-based owner ByteDance is, or can remain, independent of the Chinese government, especially if the CCP tries to force the company to share data on its American users or spread propaganda and misinformation specifically to American audiences. Lawmakers like Sens. Mark Warner of Virginia (a Democrat) and Marco Rubio of Florida (a Republican) view that threat as a national security risk: Rubio has been vocal in pushing for bans of the app on government networks and Warner has advised parents not to let their kids use the app.
Much of the concern rests in TikTok’s unique audience: More than two-thirds of teens in the United States use the app, and young people under 30 make up a plurality of its user base, a larger share than Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, or Reddit. Coincidentally, these people stand to comprise part of the majority of the new American electorate in the coming decade.
That makeup also poses a test for American lawmakers and their eventual campaigns: How do you explain to scores of young people who use this app every day why you want to ban their favorite app? Already, TikTok videos and comment sections are filled with debates over just how concerned users should be with a foreign government having information about them. Many conversations end with an agreement that privacy is worth the trade-off for access to the app and offer suggestions on ways to avoid a potential ban.
“They don’t like other countries collecting our data they just want American companies to collect data for the government,” one comment read on a reporter’s TikTok video explaining efforts to ban TikTok.
“You should [be concerned] if you look at what china is doing with tiktok,” another conversation starts on a video discussing a ban. “Please tell us what … they’re doing that Google, [YouTube] and Facebook aren’t doing,” another user responds.
On top of persuading younger users, how do you reach a generation of people who already don’t trust government, don’t feel connections to elected representatives, and are deeply misunderstood by the political class, while effectively eliminating one of the biggest avenues for reaching these people where they are?
Though a general ban on TikTok in the United States isn’t immediately on the horizon, efforts to scrutinize ByteDance have been accelerating this year, especially at the state level, where more than a dozen states have banned the app on government or public networks. What started as a lone effort by Rubio to have a federal agency investigate ByteDance’s purchase of TikTok’s predecessor Musical.ly has now grown into a concern with bipartisan consensus, with support from lawmakers in both parties, both chambers of Congress, and both the last and current presidential administration.
But an obvious problem exists here. TikTok is hugely popular with young people, and the last time a wider ban was floated by Donald Trump in 2020, it didn’t go over well with young people, though evidence and skepticism have grown since then. Overall, data privacy concerns that older politicians invoke just don’t seem to worry young people, who are used to being tracked and surveilled. Teens, especially, are uniquely loyal to the app: Nearly 60 percent of teens report using the app every day, and about one in six use it constantly in a day. Large numbers of teens also say it would be hard for them to give up social media in general.
Coming out of a midterm year, plenty of candidates, political organizations, and youth voter outreach groups at the federal and local levels relied on TikTok to reach the millions of young people who use the app. “As long as that’s the game in play, you have to be in the arena,” Colton Hess, the creator of one of those outreach groups (called Tok the Vote) told the Associated Press in September. TikTok helped his voter registration efforts reach tens of millions, he said.
TikTok is also supposed to be the next frontier for candidates and campaigns to expand their reach with young people, Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, the vice president and co-founder of the progressive group Way to Win, told me when I talked with her about the lessons the 2022 midterms offered for reaching young voters.
“Young people get their information in very different ways, so it’s important that we actually reach out to those folks at the places where they actually get information,” she said. A handful of politicians are already doing this, but experts on young voters think more of this outreach needs to happen. “Investing in new media platforms, in social influencers on TikTok, who have audiences and want to be able to tell their audience about things, we have to invest in those people and support their work,” Ancona said.
Already in 2020 and 2022, Democrats like Ohio Senate candidate Tim Ryan, Sen. Ed Markey in Massachusetts, Sen. Bernie Sanders in Vermont, and Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke used the app to increase their name recognition, talk about congressional politics, and participate in trends popular with young people. Many of them benefited from that recognition at the ballot box, winning strong majorities of voters under 30, the voting group least likely to turn out, to be loyal to political parties, and to trust politicians. How future campaigns, advocacy groups, and government leaders plan to reach these folks without a tool like TikTok remains to be seen.
Heading into a year of divided government, stricter regulation and restrictions on TikTok might be one of the few policies that moves forward with bipartisan support. Politicians would be wise to get out in front of young audiences early to explain this.
rn rnvox-markrn rn rn rn rn rn“,”cross_community”:false,”groups”:[{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:30770,”timestamp”:1672787016,”title”:”Politics & Policy”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics”,”slug”:”policy-and-politics”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:27722,”always_show”:false,”description”:”Vox’s policy and politics team explains everything you need to know about what’s going on in Washington and what it means for your life.”,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:””,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:true},{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:27524,”timestamp”:1672660824,”title”:”Technology”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/technology”,”slug”:”technology”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:2198,”always_show”:false,”description”:”How new technology is transforming cities and societies, from the latest apps to advances in renewable energy, computing, transportation, and more.”,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22360844/VoxTech_Highlight_2.gif”,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:false},{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:27592,”timestamp”:1672787016,”title”:”Politics”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/politics”,”slug”:”politics”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:13409,”always_show”:false,”description”:”Vox’s coverage of President Trump, Congress, partisan gridlock, and politics at the state level.”,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:””,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:false},{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:27608,”timestamp”:1672774674,”title”:”Culture”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/culture”,”slug”:”culture”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:11006,”always_show”:false,”description”:”Stay up to date on the latest in television and movie reviews, books, celebrity culture, and more.rn”,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:””,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:false},{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:71037,”timestamp”:1671886807,”title”:”Social Media”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/social-media”,”slug”:”social-media”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:623,”always_show”:false,”description”:”From Facebook to Twitter to YouTube, social media platforms are transforming communication and internet culture, even as they raise privacy concerns for users.”,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:””,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:false},{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:80301,”timestamp”:1672660824,”title”:”Recode”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/recode”,”slug”:”recode”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:22857,”always_show”:false,”description”:”Uncovering and explaining how our digital world is changing — and changing us.”,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/16201674/REC_Wordmark_Red_RGB.0.png”,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:false},{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:97455,”timestamp”:1671886807,”title”:”TikTok”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/tiktok”,”slug”:”tiktok”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:117,”always_show”:false,”description”:””,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:””,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:false},{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:102793,”timestamp”:1672144206,”title”:”Technology & Media”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:”https://www.vox.com/business-of-media”,”slug”:”business-of-media”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:246,”always_show”:false,”description”:””,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:””,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”,”primary”:false}],”internal_groups”:[{“base_type”:”EntryGroup”,”id”:72745,”timestamp”:1672660824,”title”:”Category—Commentary”,”type”:”SiteGroup”,”url”:””,”slug”:”category-commentary”,”community_logo”:”rn“,”community_name”:”Vox”,”community_url”:”https://www.vox.com/”,”cross_community”:false,”entry_count”:7325,”always_show”:false,”description”:””,”disclosure”:””,”cover_image_url”:””,”cover_image”:null,”title_image_url”:””,”intro_image”:null,”four_up_see_more_text”:”View All”}],”image”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789446/1450835299.0.jpg”,”network”:”unison”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:”The TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office in Culver City, California.”,”credit”:”Mario Tama/Getty Images”,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:2011,”top_left_y”:1233,”bottom_right_x”:2915,”bottom_right_y”:2137},”bounds”:[0,0,5655,3837],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:5655,”height”:3837},”focal_point”:null,”image_id”:71789446,”alt_text”:””},”hub_image”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789446/1450835299.0.jpg”,”network”:”unison”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:”The TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office in Culver City, California.”,”credit”:”Mario Tama/Getty Images”,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:2011,”top_left_y”:1233,”bottom_right_x”:2915,”bottom_right_y”:2137},”bounds”:[0,0,5655,3837],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:5655,”height”:3837},”focal_point”:null,”image_id”:71789446,”alt_text”:””},”lede_image”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg”,”network”:”unison”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:”The TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office in Culver City, California.”,”credit”:”Mario Tama/Getty Images”,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:2011,”top_left_y”:1233,”bottom_right_x”:2915,”bottom_right_y”:2137},”bounds”:[0,0,5655,3837],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:5655,”height”:3837},”focal_point”:null,”image_id”:71789452,”alt_text”:””},”group_cover_image”:null,”picture_standard_lead_image”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg”,”network”:”unison”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:”The TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office in Culver City, California.”,”credit”:”Mario Tama/Getty Images”,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:2011,”top_left_y”:1233,”bottom_right_x”:2915,”bottom_right_y”:2137},”bounds”:[0,0,5655,3837],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:5655,”height”:3837},”focal_point”:null,”image_id”:71789452,”alt_text”:””,”picture_element”:{“html”:{},”alt”:””,”default”:{“srcset”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DnOMOBOH86hYvEdvxe5wBnk7yCI=/0x0:5655×3837/320×240/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5u0e5ncztO8VZOHq_znrcgkqA4g=/0x0:5655×3837/620×465/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 620w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TJNEoZR4iwQdZKbWsnnBFTnc89Q=/0x0:5655×3837/920×690/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IQuFk_kDFPHiT_yBs6aZvyn5PII=/0x0:5655×3837/1220×915/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 1220w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zMuoyRd2e3Rr5wnxrH7XfhCwIVs=/0x0:5655×3837/1520×1140/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 1520w”,”webp_srcset”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qL2sqtHuImfYmLk1X1YsjEQOlds=/0x0:5655×3837/320×240/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 320w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ddHR8ojb4FFP357eCdOjoIAHgXo=/0x0:5655×3837/620×465/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 620w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/DCy5js28fGT0XYCU_HbT9mrnwAo=/0x0:5655×3837/920×690/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 920w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Y5_ZEhduNnCHHW5W49yC40nwTxM=/0x0:5655×3837/1220×915/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 1220w, https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qD3XeGZ-nBVbuIWeSM60vMAnUKw=/0x0:5655×3837/1520×1140/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg 1520w”,”media”:null,”sizes”:”(min-width: 809px) 485px, (min-width: 600px) 60vw, 100vw”,”fallback”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/M_tUTpuZq7QNEFGBJW1rJm9_fU8=/0x0:5655×3837/1200×900/filters:focal(2011×1233:2915×2137)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71789452/1450835299.0.jpg”},”art_directed”:[]}},”image_is_placeholder”:false,”image_is_hidden”:false,”network”:”vox”,”omits_labels”:true,”optimizable”:false,”promo_headline”:”Good luck explaining a TikTok ban to young people”,”recommended_count”:0,”recs_enabled”:false,”slug”:”policy-and-politics/23523287/tiktok-ban-young-people-gen-z-campaign-outreach”,”dek”:”Consensus is building in Washington that the most popular social media app among teenagers is a national security risk. How do you explain that to the app’s users?”,”homepage_title”:”Good luck explaining a TikTok ban to young people”,”homepage_description”:”Consensus is building in Washington that the most popular social media app among teenagers is a national security risk. How do you explain that to the app’s users?”,”show_homepage_description”:false,”title_display”:”Good luck explaining a TikTok ban to young people”,”pull_quote”:null,”voxcreative”:false,”show_entry_time”:true,”show_dates”:true,”paywalled_content”:false,”paywalled_content_box_logo_url”:””,”paywalled_content_page_logo_url”:””,”paywalled_content_main_url”:””,”article_footer_body”:”Millions turn to Vox to educate themselves, their family, and their friends about what’s happening in the world around them, and to learn about things that spark their curiosity. Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. rn Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today.rn“,”article_footer_header”:”Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?“,”use_article_footer”:true,”article_footer_cta_annual_plans”:”{rn “default_plan”: 1,rn “plans”: [rn {rn “amount”: 95,rn “plan_id”: 74295rn },rn {rn “amount”: 120,rn “plan_id”: 81108rn },rn {rn “amount”: 250,rn “plan_id”: 77096rn }rn ]rn}”,”article_footer_cta_button_annual_copy”:”year”,”article_footer_cta_button_copy”:”Yes, I’ll give”,”article_footer_cta_button_monthly_copy”:”month”,”article_footer_cta_default_frequency”:”annual”,”article_footer_cta_monthly_plans”:”{rn “default_plan”: 1,rn “plans”: [rn {rn “amount”: 9,rn “plan_id”: 77780rn },rn {rn “amount”: 20,rn “plan_id”: 69279rn },rn {rn “amount”: 50,rn “plan_id”: 46947rn }rn ]rn}”,”article_footer_cta_once_plans”:”{rn “default_plan”: 0,rn “plans”: [rn {rn “amount”: 20,rn “plan_id”: 69278rn },rn {rn “amount”: 50,rn “plan_id”: 48880rn },rn {rn “amount”: 100,rn “plan_id”: 46607rn }rn ]rn}”,”use_article_footer_cta_read_counter”:true,”use_article_footer_cta”:true,”featured_placeable”:false,”video_placeable”:false,”disclaimer”:null,”volume_placement”:”lede”,”video_autoplay”:false,”youtube_url”:”http://bit.ly/voxyoutube”,”facebook_video_url”:””,”play_in_modal”:true,”user_preferences_for_privacy_enabled”:false,”show_branded_logos”:true}”>
Hollywood Climate Summit will honor model, actress, and environmental activist Quannah ChasingHorse, scientist and writer Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Meredith Shea of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Universal Entertainment’s GreenerLight Program at its inaugural leadership ceremony set for June 3 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The seventh annual
EXCLUSIVE: AAO Entertainment has signed director Adrian Yang for management following the breakout success of his viral narrative short film Passing, which has generated significant industry attention after notching nearly 15 million views on Instagram. Shot and directed by the Chinese-American filmmaker, Passing follows a young woman who gathers the courage to speak to a stranger on a New
Hollywood Climate Summit will honor model, actress, and environmental activist Quannah ChasingHorse, scientist and writer Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, Meredith Shea of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Universal Entertainment’s GreenerLight Program at its inaugural leadership ceremony set for June 3 at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The seventh annual
EXCLUSIVE: AAO Entertainment has signed director Adrian Yang for management following the breakout success of his viral narrative short film Passing, which has generated significant industry attention after notching nearly 15 million views on Instagram. Shot and directed by the Chinese-American filmmaker, Passing follows a young woman who gathers the courage to speak to a stranger on a New
Key Points Tesla's energy generation and storage segment generated 27% revenue growth last year. The company's non-automotive segments were able to help offset a double-digit decline in auto revenue in 2025. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) is known for its electric vehicles (EVs), and while they
Hard drive company WD promoted long-term operations and sustainability executive Jackie Jung to become its first chief sustainability officer in February, as it steps up sales to companies building AI data centers. Her vision: Turn sustainability into a “brand” for WD, a strategy that reduces risk for the $6 billion company (formerly known as Western
If there is one thing Nigerians understand well, it is how to spot opportunity inside hardship. In 2026, that mindset will matter more than ever. The economy is tough, competition is rising, and many people are looking for smarter ways to earn, build, and survive. But even in a difficult environment, some businesses still stand
