As most people reading this probably already know, popular social media app Tik Tok had been banned on Saturday. It took a grueling four to five years of on and off court trials and meetings, but the ban eventually was put into law. That was until, of course, it returned the next day, only 14 hours after the initial ban. The app showed a message regarding the ban, thanking Donald Trump for seeking to release the ban for a little longer.
It was a tumultuous 14 hours for many. Lots of people have received the Tik Tok ban very poorly, with how entertaining the app can be.
“It was very upsetting actually, because it was my happy place,” student Xyanna Onuoha (’25) said.
Despite the initial loss, some people have seen the brighter side of things through using alternatives.
“I have Instagram Reels and a bunch of other sites that I use to watch stuff that is like the stuff on Tik Tok,” student Logan Zaleski (’27) said. “Not having Tik Tok still feels weird because I used to use it almost every day, but it is not too drastic of a change for me.”
While it is back, Tik Tok can only be used by people who have the app currently downloaded. It will not show up anywhere on app stores still. This makes it unfortunate for users who do not have the app anymore, as they are forced to switch to alternatives.
“Now I have nothing to do,” Onuoha said. “I cannot scroll through videos and have to go to Netflix to watch something. I have tried Instagram, but it is just people repeating the same stuff and saying the same jokes.”
The act of bringing back the app has also brought some major confusion. Each message that appeared when the app was banned and brought back gave courtesy to Donald Trump for working to get it back, and creating an executive order to lift the ban. However, many made it clear that the entire reason this ban took place was because of Trump all the way back in 2020, when he had originally proposed it, saying it was a national security threat against the U.S.
Many speculate the app will be sold by its current Chinese company, ByteDance, to an American one such as Meta. However, as of now the app still is owned by ByteDance, so perhaps sometime soon we will see more information on who the app will be sold to, or if it will at all.
Despite its successful return, Tik Tok is not completely free yet. The app will be lifted from its ban for 75 days. From there, only time can tell if the app will stay online for the U.S. or if it will truly be gone for good after.