The proposed US TikTok ban hints at why Australia must further regulate social media

he implications of the “TikTok ban” passed by the US House of Representatives on Wednesday are significant, given TikTok is the world’s fastest-growing social media platform and the US is its largest customer. Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance has just under six months to divest its interest in TikTok or it will be banned in its largest market, a move that would cripple the company.

We have form here: Australia also banned the Chinese-owned telecommunications firm Huawei from participating in the 5G rollout in 2022 for similar reasons. TikTok, for its part, has repeatedly denied that it has ever or would ever share user data from the US or from Australia with the CCP – though it could be compelled to do so under China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Social media companies are mostly motivated by profit. That is why they extract data from you, and that is why they seek to subtly change your behaviour or get you enraged with certain types of content and advertising. The negative social and political effects are a by-product of this profit motive.

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