As the Supreme Court hears oral arguments today on TikTok’s legal challenge to a potential nationwide ban, Brophy College Preparatory students are contemplating the impact of losing access to one of their most-used social media platforms.
The controversial law, set to take effect on January 19, would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a complete ban in the United States. The company argues this violates First Amendment rights of its 170 million American users.
“I honestly don’t think it’s fair,” says Deven Godha ’26, a Brophy student who regularly uses the app. “There are other apps—like Temu, like Alibaba—that also steal information, so why are they banning TikTok? Why do they have to ban only one of them? They should either choose to ban all of them or none of them.”
The federal government maintains that TikTok poses a national security threat due to ByteDance’s ties to China, leading to concerns about user data collection and potential influence operations by the Chinese government.
The ban’s economic impact could be substantial, with TikTok estimating that approximately 7 million U.S. small businesses could lose around $1 billion in revenue. Additionally, about 2 million content creators face potential losses of $300 million in earnings.
While Brophy College Preparatory hasn’t implemented specific TikTok restrictions, the school maintains general guidelines about appropriate social media use during class hours and content that could reflect negatively on the institution. This approach contrasts with broader governmental actions, as more than 30 states have already banned TikTok on state-issued devices as of March 2024.
Despite concerns about the potential ban, students are already considering alternatives. “I think, at the start, it’s going to have a positive impact, because, you know, doom scrolling isn’t good for you,” Godha notes. “But there are going to be other apps that emerge. Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and a bunch of other stuff, it won’t really have an impact. I’ll probably go to one of these.”
This article was written using AI. The reporter takes responsibility for the piece by gathering, editing and verifying all included content.
