TikTok is back after the shortest ban I have ever seen, but only for 75 days. Being taken offline on the evening of Jan 18, hours before the ban went into effect, and returning the morning of the 19, the popular app was offline for roughly 12 hours. The application credited its quick return to now President Donald Trump. However, this is only a bandaid on a permanent issue, meaning we may face a similar situation in April.
Why did it get banned in the first place?
The original reason for the ban was due to the company’s relations with China. While Tiktok itself is based in the US, its parent company, ByteDance, is based in Beijing, and allegedly has ties with the communist party. One reason for the ban comes from the claim that the app shares users’ information with the Chinese government, and with 170 million Americans using the app, the United States government does not approve. While the claim’s validity may be debated by some, it still presents a concern for the government, one which they do not want to deal with.
What’s currently happening?
On Monday, Jan 20th, Trump signed the executive order “APPLICATION OF PROTECTING AMERICANS FROM FOREIGN ADVERSARY CONTROLLED APPLICATIONS ACT TO TIKTOK”, which stated that the application was back for 75 days, which would land on April 5th, 2025. However, this is only an extension- if an American buyer is not found by then the application will likely go offline once again. In addition to this, the application is also no longer available on the Apple Store, as this is just a temporary fix.
The only permanent resolution is for someone the US government approves of to buy it from Byte-Dance. A few of these options include Elon Musk, popular YouTuber Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson), Kevin O’Leary, or even Larry Ellison. This would solve the issue of the application being delisted from the app store, and would remove the 75-day limit. Trump is reportedly open to the idea of a compromise, with the app being jointly owned by an American company. This may improve the odds of the ban being repealed, though it still seems slim that it will be sold.
How did people react to the ban?
A nationwide ban on one of the most popular applications is going to draw a lot of attention. With many people assuming that TikTok would be gone for good, there were a few different types of reactions. Some made farewell videos, giving recaps of the careers that TikTok had enabled them to be in, thanking the app for all its memories. Others began posting on alternative apps, such as Instagram, or another Chinese app, Rednote. A few others made their disappointment widely known, with one man reportedly setting fire to a congressman’s office, though the damage was reported as moderate. The man claimed that he was motivated by the TikTok ban, though seeing how fast it was reversed, he may have jumped the gun a bit.
