TikTok Ban?

Social media is the source of engagement, entertainment, and exuberance. It all started with Six Degrees in 1997, the first platform to create a profile and follow friends. Then came Friendster, LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. All of these apps have changed the way we engage with society. With the rise in technology came new introductions to friendships, influences, and information. In 2010, Instagram entered the world with a huge bang, followed by Snapchat in 2011, becoming widely popular among younger generations. Then, the game of influence changed when comedy and music intertwined.
In 2012, Vine became a cultural phenomenon, producing content creators left and right. The platform introduced short looping clips of all types, ushering in a new era of attention spans. Though the rise of this app was unlike anything ever seen before, the competition created was just the beginning. Musical.ly came into the world in 2014, silently stealing all light from Vine. Both of these apps fostered an era of creativity that has made an impact to this day. Through the years that followed, Vine was outcompeted and Musical.ly was merged into the platform everyone knows and loves today: TikTok.
TikTok set off in 2018 and has reached over 170 million downloads in the United States and 2 billion worldwide. Left and right, attention spans were noticeably altered by the 6-second clips and scrolls the app had to offer. During the pandemic in 2020, when everyone went online to connect, this app reigned supreme as the primary entertainment source. 5 years later, it is now the source the younger generations flock to for news, cooking tips, book recommendations, clothing styles, music choices, and content creators. But, as seen in the past, all good things must come to an end, right?
U.S. officials waved a red flag on their stance on the social media platform, pointing out that the app’s ties to China pose a risk to national security. As of last year, congress gave Tiktok a deadline of 1/19/2025 for the app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the app or be cut from the U.S. market. However, now that the ban was passed and lasted all of 12 hours, what does it mean for the millions of users here in America? 1/20/2025, the morning after the ban was put in effect, President Trump issued a statement saying he would issue an executive order following his inauguration on Monday to delay enforcement of the divest-or-ban law. Around 11 am that day, the app welcomed its users back to the platform.
When opening the app, users were greeted with “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok.” Although the app is back in action, what does it mean for the future of this platform? Trump, who previously supported a TikTok ban, now advocates for its survival and proposed a 50-50 joint venture between ByteDance and a U.S. company. While Congress passed the ban over national security concerns, millions of younger Americans oppose it. The executive order to delay Tiktok’s ban was opposed by Republican Senators Tom Cotton and Pete Rickets, who argued that Tiktok should only be allowed to return if it severs ties with China.
Despite Trump’s efforts, he cannot override a law passed by Congress and signed by President Biden with an executive order. This legal action led to TikTok’s brief shutdown, and companies like Apple removing it from their app stores, citing legal obligations. Apple confirmed that while existing users can still access TikTok, it won’t be available for new downloads or updates in the U.S. To say the future of TikTok is unpredictable is an understatement, but for now, users are rejoicing to have access back. How long will the app stay alive and functional, however,  is up to the passing of a new law to reverse the old one.