For a brief moment, TikTok was history. On January 18, 2025, at approximately 10:30 p.m., over 150 million U.S. users suddenly found themselves unable to scroll on the app. All of America’s For You pages were suddenly plagued with a message that read: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.” There was more to the message, but once users read that they would be unable to use TikTok, social media went spiraling. Then, just as abruptly as TikTok had disappeared, it was back.
As panic spread among users, countless people spent their last day with the app scrambling to save all their favorite videos to their camera rolls, posting old videos and drafts, and reminiscing on what they call the “good old days” of TikTok. Some more popular creators even went live, saying their goodbyes to their followers, unsure if they would ever return to the platform. Users were informed that the ban would take place on January 19, 2025, at 12:00 a.m., so the early ban came as a shock to many. Many argue that TikTok should not be banned in the first place, but the Supreme Court of the United States disagrees. The Court had the Federal Bureau of Investigation look further into TikTok and learn more about it after the initial whisperings of a ban in July 2020.
Contrary to popular belief, TikTok has faced banning allegations before in the United States. Rumors of the platform’s removal from the app store surfaced as early as July 2020. According to the AP News’ David Hamilton, India was the first country to completely ban TikTok, after which President Trump announced that he was considering banning TikTok due to China’s “mishandling” of the COVID-19 Pandemic (AP News). In August 2020, Trump issued an executive order stating that American companies were banned from any “transactions” involving TikTok and related companies. When Joe Biden was sworn in as President in February 2021, he postponed the legal plans involving the ban. In April 2022, TikTok was announced as the most downloaded app in the world. Then, in December 2022, FBI Director Christopher Wray introduced national security concerns about TikTok, warning that “Chinese officials could manipulate the app’s recommendation algorithm for influence operations.” There were many more rumors of TikTok getting banned in the U.S. all the way until December 27, 2024, when President-elect Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the potential TikTok ban from going into effect until his administration could pursue a “political resolution” to the issue (AP News). In the midst of growing safety concerns, the Supreme Court continued its work with the FBI to get as much information as possible about the app before making a final decision. The FBI reported back to the Supreme Court with what they found, “TikTok can access ‘any data’ stored in a consenting user’s ‘contact list’—including names, photos, and other personal information about unconsenting third parties.” On January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court issued an order stating that the ban would take effect on January 19, 2025. “The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal law banning TikTok beginning unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app.”
On Sunday, January 19, the banning day, President Donald Trump promised he would sign an executive action that delayed the ban for 75 days. As promised, the next day the action was signed, stating that it would help the Trump Administration, “determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans.” (CNN C. Duffy & D. Goldman). America welcomed TikTok back into their lives with open arms.
Despite the relief of TikTok’s return, the uncertainty of what is to happen to the app remains. While President Trump’s executive action has delayed the ban for now, it does not guarantee TikTok’s long-term future in the United States. With national security concerns still at the front lines of the decision, the fate of the app is hanging in the open air. Will TikTok find a way to stay permanently, or was this fourteen-hour break from TikTok a glimpse into an inevitable ban? Would America be banned from using TikTok once again after 75 days are up, or will it be the end of an era? For now, users will continue scrolling on the app, but for how much longer?
