The TikTok ban took place on January 19, or did it?
For only one day, when opening TikTok each user would see a message stating: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
This message rattled everyone. Since 2018 when Musical.ly converted to TikTok, it has been the go-to place to relax and enjoy the newest videos. Because of the popularity of TikTok, multiple copies of the platform have been created. For example, Instagram added the features of Reels, which is very similar to TikTok, and YouTube added a feature called “YouTube Shorts” which is similar to TikTok as well.
There are multiple reasons behind the TikTok ban. China and the U.S. have high tensions, so Congress is trying to eliminate the app, which is owned by a Chinese-based company, in case TikTok is stealing American users’ information. Congress also worries that the U.S. promotes bad ideas and negatively affects people’s mental health.
Some people don’t know that TikTok has been banned in India since 2020 for security concerns.
Prior to the TikTok ban, some students had concerns.
“I am on TikTok a lot, and I have heard about the TikTok ban. I am not happy about the ban, and if TikTok gets banned, I may try out Red Note. I am hopeful that either Donald Trump, Jimmy Donaldson (Mr. Beast), or Elon Musk will prevent the ban or buy it,” Kavita Garraway ’28 said.
While most students are opposed to the ban, others don’t really mind it.
“After the TikTok ban, I think people will go to Instagram. I am actually not too mad about the TikTok ban, because it doesn’t matter and there are always other options,” Max Kupperman ’28 said.
Since TikTok was banned, everyone fled to different apps. Besides apps like Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, people also went to an app called Red Note. Red Note is the most similar app to TikTok, but there are some problems for Congress because it is so similar to TikTok. Red Note, on the other hand, is more likely to steal your information due to the fact that it is directly run by a Chinese company. Almost ironic,that users of TikTok are fleeing to RedNote after Congress just banned TikTok.
As of right now, there is no news that supports the fact that Red Note will also be banned by Congress.
While tensions were high during the few hours that TikTok was banned, a message appeared on the app: “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.”
“I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect so that we can make a deal to protect our national security,” President Trump said prior to the ban. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.”
TikTok was officially unbanned on January 20 by Donald Trump. “I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points, and there are those who say that TikTok has something to do with that,” said Trump.
However, TikTok still may not stay forever because President Trump did not cancel the ban, but postponed the ban by 75 days. This is the amount of time given for TikTok to find a U.S. buyer.
