Why Texas Governor Greg Abbott wants to shut down TikTok

Are you on the social media site TikTok?

How about your kids?

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says it's time to shut it down.

In case you haven't been keeping up with the latest craze, TikTok is an insanely popular video-focused social networking service hosting short user videos.

Most of these videos are pranks, stunts, jokes, hacks, or dance-related.

Even though the app has only been around since 2018, it has 689 million monthly active users, according to techjury.com.

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The Reasons Behind His New Crusade

Abbott says drug cartels are using the social media site to help with the smuggling of illegal immigrants, and the site needs to be shut down to stop this, according to KXAN.

TikTok should be ashamed, condemned and have a legal action brought against it for promoting human trafficking in Texas and the United States of America.

- Texas Governor Greg Abbott

Also, kabc.com reports that Abbott is claiming state troopers have seen multiple posts on TikTok from cartels offering large amounts of money to people helping migrants move into the United States.

Governor Greg Abbott says there is precedent to shutting down a social media site for promotion of illegal activity, pointing to legal action that took down the site Backpage for aiding prostitution.

Why Should You Care?

What seems like an innocent message in video form could be something much more sinister directed at teenagers and children, according to Steven McCraw, the director of Texas DPS.

He says kids are being recruited through TikTok for smuggling operations, according to ABC7 in Amarillo.

We are seeing kids being recruited from around the state — San Antonio, Dallas, Houston — coming down in droves. What comes through these borders impacts each of you, and your citizens and every community in Texas.

-Director of Texas DPS Steven McCraw

Problems With TikTok in General

While too much social media isn't good for anyone, there are some valid concerns about TikTok in particular, including fears that it is decreasing attention spans of users.

TikTok has been banned in India, and other countries looking to outlaw the app include Indonesia and Bangladesh.

The app has been controversial for a long time, but it's pretty unlikely that it will get shut down anytime soon in America - or Texas.

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