Australia Urged to Extend TikTok Ban to WeChat
TimeMAY 2023
TikTok and Telegram have become a haven for al-Shabab and other terrorist groups to spread propaganda and engage in cyber warfare against Somalia. Not only is TikTok a vulgar app that exposes people, especially vulnerable minors, to awful and indecent content, but it is also a national security threat. These applications provide no good for society — the government was right to step in and ban them.
While the Somali government may act like TikTok has no worth and is only a net negative for society, it is overlooking the value the app brings to many people's lives. Many Somalians rely on the app as a form of income and need the platform just to afford their essentials. Like anything, moderation is key, and the government could have found a way to regulate TikTok without resorting to an outright ban.