With the widespread availability of VPNs, how could a TikTok ban on U.S. citizens realistically be enforced?
Most people do not use VPNs and wouldn’t use them to access Tiktok.
The vast majority of users are not tech savvy enough to use a VPN.
The creators might be, sure. But when their videos get 1/50th the views they did before, they’ll quickly abscond from the platform.
It would be enforced as an App Store ban.
Could you root your phone and side load it? Sure, but most folks won’t, and any social network relies on having a critical mass of participants to function.
The proposed ban would also prohibit US-based companies from supporting or doing business with TikTok. That’s huge.
If the app is blocked by major ISPs, users could get around that using VPNs or other proxies. Most users don’t know how to do that.
If the app is removed from app stores, users could get around that using a rootkit and custom app installation. Most users don’t know how to do that.
If the app is banned from doing business with US-based advertisers, and the user population drops, that will crater the app’s business model. With no direct way to turn a profit, why would an app developer continue to pour resources into running it for the reduced number of US customers?
Yeah so…VPNs don’t work…
It’s easy for someone on tik tok to say just get a VPN. Until that person trying to install one sees a price for it. Then having to disconnect it to use other apps.
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All that will happen is that all the vacuous airheads whose lives are ruined by TikTok will migrate onto a different platform and continue to have their lives ruined by absolute nonsense.
In India tiktok is banned. And you can’t even access with the use of VPNs.
its definitely gonna be effective, not many people know how to use VPN’s and I’m pretty sure if you get caught using tiktok in the US you can be fined
Just banning TikTok would already gut it’s userbase. Yes, you could use a VPN to bypass, but you’d be in the minority - most people don’t care enough about a specific app to pay for a VPN over it.
If you watch any American creators, ofc they’d likely be gone as they’d end up going somewhere else. But not just that, people with large American audiences in general may end up jumping ship, since they’ve just lost a significant audience.
But even more damning, if TikTok gets banned, it’ll also be taken off app stores like Google and Apple, which would make accessing TikTok through mobile devices even more difficult even with a VPN, putting even more nails in TikTok’s coffin.
There PLENTY of FREE VPNS with NO SIGNIFICANT LIMITATIONS eg Proton VPN.
Money is not a barrier to VPN access .
I have a gaming pc so naturally I already have antivirus software on it, which includes a VPN on up to 10 devices, so I will just be using that. But will every video published in the US just disappear? Like will all my liked and favorited videos suddenly say “no longer available” or something?
Now that it’s down has anyone figured out if vpns work to watch it now?
Just the fact that it forces people to spend time and money on a VPN will weed out all but the most dedicated TikTok users. And then the US could ban VPNs for anything short of work purposes anyway.
You think the government can’t outsmart vpns? They absolutely can, though they may not be bothered trying
Yeah, Tiktok is free, VPNS are not.
proton vpn is a high quality vpn with a good free plan
You don’t need to be tech savvy to use vpn…