Nikki Haley thinks teens "will understand" if she bans TikTok

Charleston, South Carolina - Presidential hopeful Nikki Haley wants to ban TikTok in the US if she wins the White House, and she believes young people will give her a pass in doing so.

Presidential candidate Nikki Haley wants to ban TikTok in the US, and argues that teenagers "will understand" if she is able to do it.
Presidential candidate Nikki Haley wants to ban TikTok in the US, and argues that teenagers "will understand" if she is able to do it.  © Collage: IMAGO / Pond5 Images, imagebroker & Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

Haley sat down for an interview with Fox News on Monday in which she made an "honest" attempt to "explain why" TikTok is bad for young people.

"The reason we want to ban TikTok – and yes, I think we need to ban it – is because it's an app that actually goes and has access to your contacts, to your financial information, to your camera, to your recorder, to everything," Haley explained. "It's infiltration; we know that."

"This is a truth that needs to be told to the American people, no matter what age they are," she added. "I think the younger generation is smart. I think they will understand this when we explain it to them."

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According to Wallaroo Media, TikTok, which is based in China, boasts over 1.1 billion users worldwide, with 80 million of those being in the US alone. Of those millions of users, 60% are between the ages of 16-24.

It has been a growing concern among many American politicians as many young people are getting their news and political views from TikTok, which Haley says is the platform "trying to influence young voters."

Nikki Haley points at the recent Osama bin Laden letter TikTok trend

Nikki Haley speaks at the third Republican candidates' 2024 presidential debate.
Nikki Haley speaks at the third Republican candidates' 2024 presidential debate.  © REUTERS

During the interview, Haley brought up a recent viral TikTok trend of young users sharing their thoughts on the "Letter to America" – a letter penned by Osama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda leader who helped orchestrate the September 11 attacks.

The trend has many young people sharing their "awakening" moment after reading the letter and realizing that US foreign relations and policies, particularly those enforced after the attacks, aren't as simple as they were taught in school.

The trend has been heavily criticized, with many arguing that Gen Z in its entirety is becoming brainwashed into validating bin Laden's attacks, and is now supporting terrorists.

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Haley, who is the only Republican candidate who has made banning TikTok a focal point of her platform, got into it with Vivek Ramaswamy during the third GOP debate. When Ramaswamy boldly pointed out that Haley's daughter was a TikTok user, Haley awkwardly responded, "Keep my daughter's name out of your voice," and called him "scum."

Haley admits that she and her campaign are on social media, but argues that "we're doing [it] on platforms that we know that we can trust, and TikTok's one we don't trust."

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Pond5 Images, imagebroker & Frederic J. BROWN / AFP

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