HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. — The U.S Supreme Court voted to uphold a ban on TikTok if the popular social media app does not terminate its contract with Chinese parent company ByteDance.

The decision has sent shockwaves among app users, some of whom are now migrating to another Chinese-owned app RedNote.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a ban on TikTok unless its Chinese parent company relinquishes ownership

  • Many TikTok users are transitioning to another Chinese-owned app RedNote 

  • Dave Hatter, northern Kentucky cybersecurity expert, argued the ban is a step toward data protection

  • Some Northern Kentucky University students expressed their discontent with the decision 

For millions of TikTok users, the Supreme Court’s decision may feel like the end of an era. But northern Kentucky cybersecurity expert Dave Hatter said it's an important step in addressing data and privacy leak concerns.

“Its primary mechanism, to make money, is to collect your data and either sell that data outright or use that data with advertisers to sell you stuff," Hatter said. "That's the whole way they make money." 

However, Ken Katkin, lawyer and Northern Kentucky University professor of law, said while not unconstitutional, he questions if this is the right decision. 

“I think Congress was acting rather foolishly when they did this," Katkin said. "It's going to harm a lot of Americans who use it, and I feel like it's going to do literally nothing to constrain China from developing databases about American citizens if they want to." 

Some NKU students said while they’re concerned about joining an app only available in Mandarin, it’s about making their own decisions

“I think it's funny; it's a great way to get back to the government, for sure," said NKU student Sydney Brandt. "But I think it's more concerning than TikTok itself because ... it's like, once again, a Chinese app. Now, we just can't understand anything." 

NKU student Ashton Adams argued that while language barriers are an issue, users often ignore the terms and conditions regardless of the app they're using.

"Let's not pretend like people don't click and accept on its conditions on English-speaking applications without reading them first either," Adams said. 

Hatter said he warns people looking to download RedNote and other apps to avoid what they don’t understand.

“You're basically going out of the frying pan and into the fire, right? You have no idea what they're collecting or what their terms of service say when it's written in Chinese, and you can't read it," Hatter said.

The ban could take effect Sunday, Jan. 19. 

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