It’s been about a month since the House approved a bill that would force TikTok’s parent company to sell the social media app or face a practical ban in the U.S..
Since March 2023, the share of U.S. adults who say they would support the U.S. government banning TikTok has declined from 50% to 38% as of December 2023, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The same survey shows adults under age 30 as the least likely to support a ban. Today 41% of that age group opposes a ban, 29% support it and 30% are unsure.
Here’s what three of our chapters had to say about their recent events on the proposed Tiktok ban.
BridgeUSA at Florida Southwestern College:
“The discussion went very well,” said the BridgeFSW team.
“The TikTok ban is a trendy topic and all participants had a wide range of opinions, which is what we like to see in our discussions! Also, most of our members are Gen Z, needless to say, the discussion was heated but with BridgeUSA’s norms of discussions, nothing got out of hand.”
3/13/24 – Washington D.C. (Jack Gruber, USA Today)
BridgeUSA at the University of North Carolina – Pembroke:
“I came into the conversation not knowing much about the topic, so I appreciated others educating me in an unbiased way,” said the president of BridgeUNCP. “It was interesting to discuss the TikTok ban and think critically about the intentions behind said ban.”
Study from the Pew Research Center.
BridgeUSA at Boston University:
“We had a great time! This was our first in-person discussion,” said BridgeBU president, Lauren.
“Being an unofficial and relatively new group on campus, turnout has been difficult. But we finally were able to have a casual conversation with some new faces.”
It was great to talk about the TikTok ban bill and hear what different people had to say about the issue, and we even talked about the ways we use social media and how they can or can’t be harmful, which was really interesting.
At one point, someone raised the possibility of the bill getting filibustered in the Senate, and we started jokingly discussing what random topics we would rant about if we had to filibuster (my favorite answer was “Dance Moms” lore).
It was a great time overall, and it really made me excited to continue hosting discussions like this as our chapter grows!”
Kayla, BridgeBU’s Vice President of Marketing, also spoke about the event, saying:
“For our first in-person discussion, I was so proud and impressed of how naturally it flowed and how engaging the conversation was! I felt that everyone had something valuable to contribute to the conversation about the Tiktok ban bill and it was interesting seeing everyone’s perspective on the issue.”
BridgeUSA at the University of San Francisco:
“The discussion went well! There were a lot of differing ideas on the logistics of the potential Tik Tok ban,” said the BridgeSF team. “With each question asked in the discussion, it provided everyone with great insight and diverse opinions that displayed both sides of the spectrum.
