I don't think you realize how widespread Tiktok usage is. I can reliably predict what Tiktok users will talk about in social events just by a few minutes of browsing that week's top.

What line has TikTok crossed, specifically? Is it just the content? Global reach? Data governance? User count?

I too can predict conversation topics based on what's trending in Twitter. But Twitter is now owned (in part) by investors representing foreign interests, including KSA [1]. Recent editorial changes at Twitter have amplified "unamerican" rhetoric [2]. Does Twitter cross the same lines as TikTok?

Any "solution" that bans TikTok would leave behind a far-reaching precedent, one that is completely ineffective at dealing with the core problem. Trying to stand up a virtual iron curtain won't sit well with an american userbase that's accustomed to choosing the content they want.

Also, if there's one thing you can do to make young people more captivated and curious about something - make it forbidden.

[1] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/28/saudis-kingdom-hol...

[2] https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7zm9q/elon-musk-twitter-naz...

Because by association you are receiving the same recommendations. I doubt that this is true over heterogenic, random assemblies.

TikTok has 138 million MAU (in the U.S.) and the average TikTok user spend 95 minutes per day in the app. I'm unaware of a podcast that has that type of reach.

Source: https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistic...

Joe Rogan's podcast probably comes close, with multiple three hour or more episodes each week, though he does take breaks, which TikTok does not.

His podcast gets around 11 million listeners, so off by over an order of magnitude.