The House of Representatives recently voted on the ban of the social media program TikTok because of the control it has over the United States. This ban has been a long time coming and there have been threats of taking it down on multiple occasions. The House of Representatives believes TikTok is a way to steal information from its users through the Chinese government. Though this has yet to be confirmed, the House of Representatives does not want to take any chances.

With this vote, the House approved the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act which states that TikTok can continue to thrive only if it is put under the control of an American entity, but also states that if China is not willing to sell the platform to America, it will be banned for good.

Though the main reason this ban is being put into motion is because of China’s control, there is still a probability of this ban happening regardless. This is because there are more and more young people downloading the app every day, and it is starting to affect the way they think, feel, and act.

Though the app just seems like a place to watch funny videos, a lot of “influencers” discuss sensitive issues that are meant to spread awareness on topics such as body image issues, depression, anxiety, etc.  Although it’s not the intent of the creators, many young people mistake the emotions portrayed in these videos as ones they should feel, rather than feeling okay about having those emotions.

Since the House has only just approved this act, there isn’t much information on China’s response yet, including whether or not they will sell it to America.