SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

Lately, it seems like a lot of people have a big problem with TikTok.

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GUS BILIRAKIS: Your technology is literally leading to death.

FRANK PALLONE JR: You know, you say you're benign. You want to do good things for the public. So let me ask you. What about a commitment that says that you won't sell the data that you collect?

DETROW: Politicians...

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UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST #1: You know, the longer you stay on it, some research has shown you tend to get more extreme content. And psychologically, you end up in this space where you really feel compulsively you have to now go on and on and on.

DETROW: ...Mental health professionals...

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UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST #2: I can't be there to make sure that TikTok's best interest is my children because I know it's not.

DETROW: ...And parents. TikTok is under attack, and some of the concerns are very real. Some TikTok video trends have even proved fatal.

REBECCA JENNINGS: The one that has gotten the most press is called the Blackout Challenge, where you literally try to choke yourself until you black out. And at least 15 children who were under 13 have died from this.

DETROW: Rebecca Jennings covers Internet culture for Vox.

JENNINGS: All of this stems back to this carrot that TikTok dangles in front of people, including young people, especially, that, like, you could get famous if you have a hit video.

DETROW: We'll hear more from Jennings later on. But here's what's been happening lately. A lot of members of Congress are calling for a ban on the Chinese-owned social media platform over fears that the Chinese government could harvest TikTok user information. Nearly half the states in the U.S. have banned the app on state-owned devices. Colleges and universities have taken steps to regulate the platform. Colleges in Idaho, Texas and Florida have blocked its use on school devices and campus Wi-Fi.

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UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST #1: Utah has become the first state to sign legislation limiting access to social media apps by teens.

DETROW: And last week, Utah passed a law that would require parental consent for minors to use platforms like TikTok and Instagram. For tens of millions of people, losing TikTok would be a very big deal, people like Tai Verdes. When one of his songs went viral, it changed his life.

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TAI VERDES: (Singing) She said, you're a player, aren't you? I hope you know that it shows.

My first song that I posted to TikTok was "Stuck In The Middle." And then five months later, I had a record deal. And then I had another one in 2022. And it is very fast for an artist who just started putting out music. You get to skip a couple steps.

DETROW: Or Yasmin Akhmin (ph), a ballet dancer who started creating videos during the pandemic in order to reach out to a community that was experiencing the same uncertainty she was feeling.

YASMIN AKHMIN: I talk a lot about personal struggles that I've had with being, like, frustrated or, like, slightly burnt out or struggles with, like, body image. So it was really nice to have that platform to connect with people that are going through things that sometimes you feel like you're alone in, but you're not really alone.

DETROW: CONSIDER THIS - life without TikTok, at least in the United States, feels more and more within the realm of possibility. Even the Biden administration has threatened to ban unless Chinese owners divest their stakes in the platform. But does TikTok deserve these threats, or are the fears overblown and misplaced?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: The concerns that are raised about TikTok are not unique to us.

DETROW: That's coming up. From NPR, I'm Scott Detrow. It's Saturday, April 8.

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MICHAEL BECKERMAN: TikTok, first and foremost, is an app that's beloved by millions of Americans across the country.

DETROW: Michael Beckerman is vice president of TikTok, so, of course, he has a stake in the platform's future in the U.S. Beckerman says the company has a plan to ensure that U.S. data would be managed in the U.S. and kept completely separate and independent from TikTok's Chinese parent company.

BECKERMAN: Americans' data would be stored securely here in the U.S. with access protocols that are tighter than any existing app or tech company at the moment. And I think, again, that would address all the security concerns that people might have.

DETROW: And no surprise, Beckerman thinks that banning TikTok would be a big mistake.

BECKERMAN: I think that's going to be very unpopular with Americans across the country. You can't censor hundreds of millions of Americans when there is a comprehensive solution. I think in many places across the country, TikTok is much more popular than any member of Congress that's looking to ban it. And I think that's an important point.

DETROW: Mark Pocan, a Democratic congressman from Wisconsin, also thinks a ban on TikTok is misguided. I spoke with him about what he sees as the disconnect between what millions of mostly young users see as an entertaining social platform and what some of his colleagues see as a serious threat.

MARK POCAN: This is kind of the classic difference of what a member of Congress is and what the country is. There's a real issue out there. And we should be addressing our privacy of our data across all social media platforms. The problem is we see the bullseye in front of us, and then they're shooting 90 degrees to the left or right, trying to figure out how to address it by trying to ban a platform. In reality, we have to take on all the platforms to make sure that we're protecting people and the privacy of their data. But, you know, what we're doing isn't even close to that.

DETROW: So it seems like you're saying that the personal information being sucked up by TikTok is happening. But your point is that this happens on Facebook, this happens on Instagram, this happens on Twitter as well. And I see that. But there's the specific question here with TikTok of the Chinese government and its interactions with the company. What's your response to that?

POCAN: They haven't shown us anything yet to say that's being done, right? Normally, we would have a classified briefing or some sort of briefing if that was the case. That hasn't happened. But, you know, what is happening is Congress, the average age, I think, is 57 1/2. And if you asked, I would guess somewhere between 80 and 90% of members have never been on TikTok, but they certainly have lots of opinions. And this week, I think we had a relatively cringeworthy hearing where members, you know, asked questions about, does TikTok access your internet and, you know, is the leader of China your boss and all sorts of other really crazy questions, which is what often happens, as you know, on a lot of different technology issues. You know, members of Congress, especially, you know, on some of these committees, are not probably the most well versed on these issues.

DETROW: Coming up, we weigh the pros and cons of TikTok.

JENNINGS: It is pretty addicting. So I don't love the way that, you know, it's a complete time suck. But in general, I'm mostly, like, in awe of what people have been able to do on there.