CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — While TikTok’s CEO faces intense questioning by lawmakers, the video app’s 150 million users are left questioning if it will be banned from U.S. devices.
“When TikTok became a thing, it was a question; Do we use it?” said Randall Lee, a deputy with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office. “Do we need it?”
MCSO’s first post was in September 2021. Fast forward to today, and the sheriff’s office has a TikTok page full of videos.
“It’s probably one of our best tools right now,” Lee said, “because those who might not ever meet me in person have always seen me online, have always seen me on a post or things of that nature, and it shows our vulnerable side, something that most people probably don’t see.”
Due to a state-wide ban of TikTok on government devices, the sheriff’s office must film and post their videos from a personal phone.
Like the millions of TikTok pages from across the U.S., the MCSO’s could soon be banned.
Lawmakers in Washington are concerned the Chinese government could be using the app to access American’s personal information.
“We care about our national security,” said U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter from Georgia. “We care about our economy, and we sure as heck care about our children.”
TikTok’s CEO said such claims are baseless, however.
“I have seen no evidence that the Chinese government has access to that data,” Shou Chew said. “They have never asked us. We have not provided.”
Outside the Capitol walls Thursday was a local teacher, flown out by TikTok to share her experience with lawmakers and the press.
“We were just sharing our stories of how we have used the app positively,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools teacher Nancy Bullard said.
Bullard downloaded the app during the pandemic to demonstrate science experiments that students and families can conduct in their homes.
Now, her @mrs.b.tv account has more than 3 million followers and 50 million likes.
“TikTok has allowed me to teach millions of people all over the world by breaking down those classroom walls and allowing me to reach the masses like no other social media platform has done,” Bullard said.
While Bullard says she is no data security expert, she believes the platform is safer for younger users compared to other social media apps.
