RMIT expert on the US TikTok ban
The US TikTok ban is due to come into effect in less than a week. An RMIT technology expert is available to remind us why it’s being banned, its influence on our viewpoints, and why this approach may not work.
Dr Dana Mckay, Senior Lecturer in Innovative Interactive Technologies, School of Computing Technologies
“The key thing to understand is that the US is planning to ban TikTok not because it might influence American thinking, but because it is owned by a Chinese company.
“While the issue of influence is at the heart of the ban, it is interesting to note that when these concerns have been raised in the past (for example, the role of fake news on Facebook in the 2016 election), they have not resulted in such stringent responses – largely because the companies involved have been US-based.
“TikTok's algorithm does seem unusually effective at personalisation. My own research has demonstrated that TikTok can influence the viewpoints of its users; but the same is true of other social media platforms too, sometimes with deeply negative social consequences. In a study of online view change, nearly all changes started with an encounter on social media. TikTok and Instagram reels are particularly effective for entrenching or polarising views, but also created circumstances where users’ views changed.
“Should countries outside the US consider banning Facebook, X and Instagram on this basis? We know that bans of online services are rarely effective; they just encourage the use of firewalls and other circumvention tools. We could see US users migrating to the web version of TikTok, which could result in TikTok offering better support for web access on a mobile phone.
“Better legislation would take a more nuanced approach, banning and enforcing prevention of negative consequences and anti-social actions, rather than banning platforms.”
Dana McKay is Associate Dean, Interaction, Technology and Information in the School of Computing Technologies at RMIT University. Dana's research focuses on ensuring advances in digital information technologies make the world a fairer and more equitable place.
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