Oh, US government of America. You've made a big mistake.

But how can you actually ban an app that has a massive digital footprint in the US and is downloaded on millions of phones?

The US has never banned a foreign owned app before, but it can look to India as an example.

After the country, which was once Tiktok's largest market by users, banned the app in 2020.

TikTok launched in India in 2016 and rapidly gained popularity for its easy to use interface and quirky short form videos.

TikTok was a really big hit in India, and it had captivated a lot of young people who thought that this was the coolest way to exhibit their skills and talents and to gain social media followers.

At the time, around 150 million people used TikTok every month in India, but the app was banned in 2020, along with several other Chinese-owned apps.

After violent clashes at the India-China border killed 20 Indian soldiers.

That's when the national security establishment came up with the view that we need to really scrutinize how much the Chinese apps and digital technology has penetrated Indian society.

TikTok was not just an entertainment portal, it was seen as a means for influence in India and for China to try and mold the minds of young Indians.

One of the reasons for the ban was Tiktok's Beijing-based owner, Byte Dance.

According to American interpretation of Chinese law, Byte Dance, like all companies that operate in China, could be compelled to help Chinese authorities spy or interfere with communications.

TikTok declined to comment on this video, but has previously said it has never shared user data with the Chinese government and would refuse to provide it if asked.

Now the US is raising similar concerns.

We must protect our national security and help keep America's private data out of the hands of our foreign adversaries.

Over this time, they've collected all this data.

They know what their users like, they know what they want to see, they know how often they come onto the app, all these sorts of things.

And so even if the government were to ban TikTok now, there's nothing in the bill that says they need to delete all the previous data they've collected.

TikTok users before the ban in India did it without much political consciousness or geopolitical understanding of the larger issues behind TikTok.

Probably many of them are not even aware that their information is out there.

Developing countries, unlike more advanced, industrialized economies, then the concerns about privacy and about sanctity of one's own data are not that great.

The other concern for both countries is that the Chinese government could use Tiktok's algorithm to promote misinformation or propaganda.

Mr. Chew, yes or no, has, to your knowledge, has the CCP coordinated or utilized TikTok to influence users through algorithms, state-paid content creation, or in any other capacity?

No, they do not do that.

We do not promote or remove any content on behalf of the Chinese government - Democracies, we are open societies.

We easily lap up any international new thing that comes about in the digital era and start using those things without any restrictions, and that makes it so much easier to penetrate democratic societies.

While India banned TikTok by using an executive order, that methodd failed in the US when former president Donald Trump attempted a TikTok ban in 2020.

It was struck down by a judge who said, the ban likely overstepped its authority.

Now, another attempt at a ban is going through Congress, where lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that would require ByteDance to divest itself of the business or be banned in the US.

But how do you actually ban it?

Under the current bill, app stores, such as Apple and Google, would face civil penalties if they distribute or update the app.

When you go to search for TikTok to download it, it wouldn't be there.

If you already have the TikTok app downloaded, they cannot force you to delete the app,

but the company also would not be able to push updates to the app, and so over time, it would become more buggy and the quality would just become so degraded, it would become unusable.

They would also require web hosting internet providers to block Tiktok's IP address.

So you also would not be able to access TikTok via the internet in the United States.

But one way users might try to bypass restrictions is through the use of a VPN or a virtual private network.

A VPN can disguise a user's location, making it look like you're accessing the internet from a different place.

So if someone lives in New York but sets their VPN to Canada post-ban, theoretically they would be able to access TikTok.

So we're really in uncharted territory here where sure we've seen TikTok get banned on government devices, but from a technical standpoint,

they're not asking Apple and Google to figure out which phones are government phones and ban the app on that.

That's more a logistical challenge internally.

It's not as much what we are talking about here, which is getting app stores and web hosting sites to make this app completely inaccessible, and that is something that we have not seen before.

Banning TikTok would be significant for the United States because It would mark the first time the country has placed a blanket ban on a foreign-owned app.

It's really hard to ban an app like this in the United States.

For one reason, we have very strong free speech protections, and there are many social media apps that collect our data.

You know, Tiktok's not the only one who does this.

Critics of the proposed ban have also voiced frustrations that Congress is focusing on banning TikTok over other pressing issues.

Tick, tack, toe, a winner.

Knick, knack, patty whack. I can't afford dinner.

In response to the proposed ban, TikTok is attempting to shape public opinion of the app through multimillion-dollar marketing campaigns.

Think about the five million small business owners that rely on TikTok to provide for their families.

The app remains popular in the United States with around 170 million American users.

But cracks in Tiktok's US foundation are beginning to show.

US average monthly users between the ages 18 and 24, declined by nearly 9% from 2022 to 2023, and competition in the short form video space is growing.

There's a lot here to be excited about.

Daily time spent on Meta's Instagram has grown by 10% over the past year compared to 1% for TikTok.

The bill to ban TikTok was passed in the House and sent to the Senate, but it may face an uphill battle after some senators signaled caution to the bill.

If the House bill is signed into law, ByteDance would have six months to sell off Tiktok's US operations or face a ban.

But the Chinese government has signaled it would not let a sale go through, and TikTok is expected to challenge any new law in court.