When one of the most popular social media platforms shut down in the U.S. on Saturday, Jan. 19, users thought the ban that has been in the works for years finally took place.
The next day, the app restored its services after President Donald Trump signed an executive action to postpone the ban for 75 days so TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, can find a U.S. company to sell to.
“I thought that it was strange that we got it back so fast, and it was kind of suspicious,” Ava Real, first-year biology major, said.
In April 2024, former President Joe Biden signed a law requiring ByteDance to sell the platform to a U.S. company due to national security concerns and fear of espionage, according to NBC News. If ByteDance did not comply, it would be shut down in the U.S.
“All social media companies are stealing our data,” Real said. “They use it to recommend us ads. And it’s everywhere. It’s unavoidable. It’s kind of something you sign up for, if you sign up for social media apps … it’s a common occurrence, and just to let Facebook and Instagram do that is hypocritical.”
In the U.S., the app has 170 million users, according to NBC News — most of which use the app daily to stay informed about world and entertainment news, current events or simply just to pass the time.
“If I have any free time, or when I wake up and I’m going to bed, I scroll on TikTok, and it kind of became a habit for me and a lot of my friends,” Annika Eklof, junior biomedical sciences major, said.
When the ban finally became active, many users thought the app would be unavailable forever, forcing them to turn to alternative platforms, like RedNote. Similar to TikTok, RedNote is a Chinese short-form content app used to share lifestyle and cooking videos, fashion and makeup inspiration and more.
Dubbed “TikTok Refugees,” 700,000 Americans joined RedNote in just two days following the ban, according to Reuters.
Although TikTok is up and running again, those who have deleted the app face greater consequences.
“I deleted the app after I realized I was locked out, so now I no longer have access to watching it,” Cole Bryant, a first-year applied business major, said.
Following the temporary ban, TikTok was removed from U.S. app stores and is not available for download.
When the app access was restored, however, a message popped up on users’ screens crediting President Trump with its return. The message read: “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
This left many users feeling uneasy, as Trump was the first to propose the ban during his term in 2020. While rumors of the ban have been circulating for years now, there is still little explanation of why the government is so intent on a country-wide ban.
“I was in (Washington) D.C. for a seminar two weeks ago, and when we spoke to government officials about the issue, their responses were incredibly vague,” Hannah Freshman, a junior journalism and political science double major, said. “The lack of transparency is frustrating and makes it hard for the public to believe there’s a real national security threat.”
Ahead of Jan. 19, among the frenzy of memes about users bonding with their “spies,” many creators on TikTok began saying their goodbyes in case the app would not return, informing their fans which social media sites they will be using instead.
Aside from the fact many creators on the app could lose their source of income, a more significant issue is being raised regarding freedom of speech.
The ban sets a dangerous precedent for how the government can censor and restrict digital platforms.
“TikTok has become a platform where people can share ideas, express themselves and spread awareness about important issues,” Freshman said. “Taking that away would silence millions of voices, including small creators, activists and communities who rely on it to be heard.”
Unfortunately, the future of TikTok remains unknown.
As ByteDance navigates the 75-day window to find a buyer, users will most likely spend hours glued to their screen waiting to see if their favorite app will stay or if they will be forced to find a new way to create and share.
