Something needs to change: Elon Musk enters the big TikTok ban debate

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has weighed in on the huge debate surrounding TikTok's ban in the United States.

Musk, who owns X and is known for his unfiltered commentary on global issues, addressed the disparity in digital platform access between the U.S. and China, in a post shared on X (formerly Twitter).

Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump had announced on Truth Social that he plans to delay the enforcement of the TikTok ban for 90 days and issue an executive order on Monday for the same. While TikTok operates freely in the U.S., American platforms like X, Facebook, and Google face sweeping restrictions in China under its "Great Firewall."


“I have been against a TikTok ban for a long time, because it goes against freedom of speech. That said, the current situation where TikTok is allowed to operate in America, but X is not allowed to operate in China is unbalanced. Something needs to change,” Musk wrote.


TikTok, a Chinese-owned social media platform, continues to enjoy massive popularity in the U.S., despite persistent concerns over data privacy and potential ties to the Chinese government. Meanwhile, X and other U.S.-based social platforms face strict censorship and are largely banned in China under its stringent internet regulations.

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Musk’s statement adds a new dimension to the ongoing debate surrounding a potential TikTok ban in the U.S. For years, lawmakers, cybersecurity experts, and regulators have expressed concerns that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, could share sensitive user data with the Chinese government under China's national security laws.

In 2020, former President Donald Trump attempted to force a sale of TikTok's U.S. operations to American companies, citing national security concerns. The move faced legal challenges and ultimately stalled, but the Biden administration has since revisited the issue, proposing stricter regulations or a possible outright ban on the platform.

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Montana became the first U.S. state to pass legislation banning TikTok in May 2023, setting a legal precedent that could be expanded nationwide. Proponents of the ban argue that the app poses an unprecedented risk to American citizens' privacy, with over 170 million U.S. users potentially at risk of surveillance or manipulation.