Inside the Ban on TikTok and Why It Could Work

In general, the idea of banning something that kids really want to do or use hardly ever works. Betting against the ingenuity of young minds is usually a losing wager. Yet the fact that the US House just passed a bill that could ban TikTok if it doesn't separate from its Chinese parent company could actually work.

It has long been known that the experience of TikTok that kids in the US have is dramatically more evil than the experience in China. One expert even described the difference as opium versus spinach. In China, kids are time-limited with how long they can use the platform and the algorithm intentionally serves up more positive and educational content. In the US, one disturbing report found it only takes a social media feed 17 minutes to turn negative and encourage vulnerable kids to commit suicide. It's no wonder there is a growing movement to ban smartphones at school.

So yes, it does seem like the right thing to do is to ban the American version of TikTok offered by Chinese company ByteDance and instead either replace it with a more ethical version (assuming those who are newly in charge would do it), or encourage kids to move to platforms that invest in creating a more positive and uplifting emotional experience like Roblox or Snapchat. What do you think? Is banning TikTok the right move?