Ye Discusses Ramifications of Potential TikTok Ban
Min Ye, Professor of International Relations at Boston University’s Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, recently penned an op-ed for BU Today, entitled, “If We Ban TikTok, What’s Next?,” discussing the potential ramifications of an American ban of the Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok.
In the article, Ye advises against banning Tiktok, warning of “long-term risks for America and global affairs alike.” Ye debunks the three arguments for a nationwide ban, exploring issues of national security, privacy, and reciprocity, and reveals the ban may do more harm than good. On the future of implications of the TikTok ban, Ye said:
“The fate of TikTok now hangs in the balance in the Senate; whether it will be banned or continue to operate is likely to have a more limited impact than what is argued by either the backers of the ban or the advocates of TikTok users. However, the fundamental rationales behind the ban—the securitization of all connections with China, preferring regulations over mitigation of digital content harms, and an emerging inclination to censor information carriers—are likely to inflict long-term and irreparable harm on both America and global affairs.”
The article can be accessed in full on the BU Today website.
Min Ye is the author of Diasporas and Foreign Direct Investment in China and India (Cambridge University Press, 2014), and The Making of Northeast Asia (with Kent Calder, Stanford University Press, 2010). Her most recent book, titled The Belt Road and Beyond: State-Mobilized Globalization in China: 1998–2018 (Cambridge University Press 2020), explores the motivations and strategies behind China’s global economic expansion and considers the implications of the country’s status as a global power on both China and the world. Read more about Professor Ye on her faculty profile.