# {if} TikTok is banned. What's next? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2023, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055 "2023-04-03T05:30:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/41 "2023-04-14T03:07:38Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Is there any realistic chance you’d somehow get caught if you were in MO close to the border You literally cannot place a bet if you’re in Missouri. It’s because of Location Services on a mobile phone, and via IP address from a computer. My son lives in Kansas two blocks from the state line and he can make a bet at home using his laptop or phone. But if he walks to the nearest bar, which is in Missouri, he cannot make a bet either using his phone connecting via cellular signal, or using his laptop connecting via the establishment’s wifi. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/42 "2023-04-14T05:25:50Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > But the gambling apps (like DraftKings and BetMGM) do this pretty well. Good point. I hadn’t considered that that particular bridge has already been crossed. Therefore any argument based on the difficulty of implementing the restriction has pretty much already been effectively countered. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/43 "2023-04-14T14:38:50Z")
Of course that depends 100% on the willingness of the app vendor to comply accurately with the restrictions. If they’re unreachable enough, they may not bother. OTOH, as long as the apps are available only through the Google or Apple app stores, those two organizations have enough to lose that they will try very hard to police the apps. At least until Elmo decides to open a Freedum! app store to accompany the newly Free!\* Twitter with no moderation or enforcement of any kind. * * * \* “Free” as in lack of controls or standards, not as in lack of cost. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/44 "2023-04-14T17:49:56Z")
My office is in Ohio, but our IP address shows Kentucky. Geo IP has a ways to go. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/45 "2023-04-14T18:04:17Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > You literally cannot place a bet if you’re in Missouri. It’s because of Location Services on a mobile phone, and via IP address from a computer. My son lives in Kansas two blocks from the state line and he can make a bet at home using his laptop or phone. But if he walks to the nearest bar, which is in Missouri, he cannot make a bet either using his phone connecting via cellular signal, or using his laptop connecting via the establishment’s wifi. That’s really interesting. Can you use a proxy IP on your laptop to make it work (for those who don’t just have to walk two blocks)? ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/46 "2023-04-14T18:39:01Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Can you use a proxy IP on your laptop to make it work (for those who don’t just have to walk two blocks)? I do not know the answer to that question. I do know that, last fall, when I was on the road in a non-gambling state and wanted to place a bet, I used TeamViewer to remote into my desktop at home to place that bet. Which proved that I can lose money anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/47 "2023-05-18T03:43:34Z")
> **[Montana governor bans TikTok | CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/tech/montana-governor-tiktok/index.html)** > > Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill Wednesday banning TikTok in the state. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/48 "2024-03-15T02:57:17Z")
The House has voted to ban TikTok if it isn’t divested. Biden has said he would sign the bill. It’s unclear how quickly the Senate will act. > **[House passes a bill that could lead to a TikTok ban if Chinese owner refuses...](https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-ban-house-vote-china-national-security-8fa7258fae1a4902d344c9d978d58a37)** > > The bill would require the Chinese firm ByteDance to divest TikTok and other applications it owns within six months of the bill’s enactment. Ironically, Trump has flip flopped, and he is now against the ban. I have no delusions that he is doing this out of principle, other than the principle of doing what’s best for Trump. [https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/14/trump-tiktok-billionaire-donors-00146892](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/14/trump-tiktok-billionaire-donors-00146892) Will he be able to persuade enough Republican senators to kill the bill? My guess is probably not. I give it a 95% chance of passing. For what it’s worth, I think trying to ban TikTok is overreacting. Is the danger level zero? No, but I think it’s very low. If the government is serious about it, they have other less well known but probably riskier targets they could go after, one of which I am also a customer of. I own a Boox e-reader, which is manufactured by a Chinese company. If the CCP wanted to, they could use it to steal my Google and Amazon password, monitor what I read, and so on. I did take the sensible risk of making a separate Google and Amazon account as a precaution, but I’m not up at night in fear that Xi Jinping is keeping track of how far along I am in my current re-reading of _The Hobbit_. What does this tell me? That this whole thing is more of a show of “being tough on China” rather than trying to address any serious concerns. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/49 "2024-03-15T07:02:08Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > For what it’s worth, I think trying to ban TikTok is overreacting. Is the danger level zero? No, but I think it’s very low. If the government is serious about it, they have other less well known but probably riskier targets they could go after, one of which I am also a customer of. I own a Boox e-reader, which is manufactured by a Chinese company. If the CCP wanted to, they could use it to steal my Google and Amazon password, monitor what I read, and so on. ⁢ The counterargument would be that they are less well known because they are used by fewer people, and thus have lower impact. It makes sense to go after the larger offenders first. Also, to be clear, this bill does not actually single out TikTok. It goes after any “foreign-adversary controlled appliation.” There are several other social media sites I could see that would fall afoul of the law. It’s just that TikTok is by far the largest with international appeal. Here’s [the text of the law](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7521/text), and here’s [Congress’s own summary](https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/7521). ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/50 "2024-03-15T12:59:18Z")
All we need to do now is label Xitter a hostile foreign-controlled app and be done with Elmo. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/51 "2024-03-15T16:44:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Also, to be clear, this bill does not actually single out TikTok. It goes after any “foreign-adversary controlled appliation.” There are several other social media sites I could see that would fall afoul of the law. It’s just that TikTok is by far the largest with international appeal. I’m not a legal expert. Out of curiosity, do you (or anyone else who understands such matters) think this would affect Boox and their e-readers? Is their relative obscurity the only reason they haven’t been mentioned, or is this law something that wouldn’t apply to them? I’d post a link to their site, but I’m not sure whether or not that’s allowed by board rules. Basically they are a Chinese company that makes premium e-ink devices (much better than the Kindle IMHO). They use android software, and most users here in the US (I have no idea what they have access to in China) log on to the Google play store, and then download apps like Kindle, Nook, whatever else to download their books, having to log in to the Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. sites to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/52 "2024-03-15T17:02:00Z")
In related news, Steven Mnuchin is interested in putting together a group of investors to purchase TikTok. > **[Who could buy TikTok? These are the people who could acquire the app](https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/tiktok-ban-sale-buy-bill-law-download-app-senate-date-rcna143413)** > > The House passed a bill Wednesday that could ban TikTok if the app isn’t sold to an American company. ---
**Author:** ![Tatterdemalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Tatterdemalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tatterdemalion)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/53 "2024-03-15T17:47:27Z")
I was ambivalent about banning TikTok. All of a sudden I am against it if the donor class is seeing it as an opportunity for grift. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/54 "2024-03-15T19:49:45Z")
Every bit of legislation that affects any business is an opportunity for grift. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/55 "2024-03-16T06:15:15Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think it’s interesting that it’s all about the recommendations. I do everything I can to avoid getting recommendations from social media sites I’ve discovered so many of my current favourite new bands through the YouTube algorithm that I’m a convert. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/56 "2024-03-16T12:49:03Z")
If Trump is against the ban, that might increase his favorability rating among young folks-an area where Biden might not be doing as well. Maybe not a huge swath of voters, but every little bit helps (or hurts). ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2024, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055/57 "2024-03-16T14:27:44Z")
Whatever the reason he flip flopped, I’m sure it’s for the benefit of Trump, not because he’s a defender of free speech. None the less, if he’s able to get enough Republican senators to jump on board and stop this bill from becoming law, I agree that it will help him. As is, I never thought I’d be on the same side of a controversial issue as Trump, but here we are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-tiktok-is-banned-whats-next/982055.md?page=2)