The ban on the popular social media platform TikTok has officially been delayed by a 75 day period and while the app is available for most users, TikTok will not return to the AppStore until ByteDance sells to a U.S party.
The U.S Senate passed the bill on April 23, 2024 that would pressurize the TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell to an American party in nine months which fell on January 19, 2025. The day was being dreaded by the 170 million American citizens and businesses nationwide who use the app to promote and sell their products, as well as the two other apps following the ban: Capcut and Lemon8.
On the evening of January 18, hours before the ban was supposed to take place, TikTok was shut down. TikTok left a message on the home page of the app saying, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S…We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
Fortunately, what was supposed to be a day of digital mourning ended up becoming an emotional roller coaster. Not even 24 hours after the supposed ban, it was undone, allowing users back into the app with zero issues to be found.
“I think the tiktok ban was unnecessary. There have been a lot of other political debates going for years now such as the economy in itself and gun laws. Why have we focused on an app so much? Many people have also said that Tik Tok has been a way to exercise their 1st amendment right, so why take that away?” said Brandon Sanchez (11).
However, during the ban, people quickly moved to the next popular app, Red Note. Red Note is the English translation of the Chinese social media app “Xiaohongshu” that is a mixture of Instagram, Tik Tok and Pinterest. The app combines the virtual aspect of scrolling through videos as well as finding daily inspiration or simple how-to videos, etc.
“I was very sad [when Tik Tok was banned] so I downloaded Red Note to see if it was as good as Tik Tok, but everything was in Chinese and I couldn’t read anything on my profile. Then I woke up to it being back and I was so happy,” Macie Laundy (9).
When TikTok made its highly sought out appearance on Monday, January 20, life returned to its old ways, and everything seemed to go back to normal as people watched the presidential inauguration on the reinstated platform.