MeWe, the boss of the social network, said that the blockchain could solve the problem of TikTok

MeWe Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Edel recently wrote an op-ed on how he believes the stalemate between the United States government and China's TikTok can be avoided by implementing blockchain technologies.

Edel is in the unique position of transitioning a social media company with over 20 million users from traditional web2 to blockchain.

Tik Tok status

Several recent reports indicate that the US is currently considering an outright ban on the Chinese social media platform TikTok. There are allegations that platform owner ByteDance has handed over sensitive user data to the Chinese government.

In an op-ed for Rolling Stone, Edel wrote that TikTok's case is a user privacy issue that decentralization can avoid at its core:

I believe that the concerns surrounding Tik Tok are valid, I believe that the focus should not be on just one app or one country. Instead, companies should work to create and implement strict guidelines for managing personal data, digital identity, and user privacy, regardless of their origin.

“One of the ways we can ensure that personal information is safe and secure is through Web 3-based blockchain technology,” Edel added.

Transition to blockchain

According to Cointelegraph, MeWe will transition from Web2 to the Frequency blockchain network, the Polkadot parachain, in April 2023.

At its core, the blockchain-based user privacy debate is about who exactly has access to user data. In traditional social media platforms like X, user data is captured through a centralized control system, and the company itself retains ownership of all data.

In TikTok's case, that means ByteDance — and by legal extension the Chinese government — owns all of the platform's user data, including more than 150 million US users.

By storing data on the blockchain and implementing certain privacy controls, the social media network allows users to control their data without disrupting platform functionality.

Related: Worldcoin launches its own ‘human-centric' blockchain network

While MeWe's user base doesn't stack up to TikTok's, the company's transition to blockchain shows that it's possible.

To that end, Edel shared six best practices for other companies considering the changes in a Rolling Stone article: understanding the technology, starting small, choosing the right platform for your company, keeping up-to-date with regulatory compliance changes, collaborating with stakeholders, and getting employees educated and trained on blockchain. Make sure they are.