On January 18, 2025, a TikTok ban enacted by former President Joe Biden went into effect, leaving 170 million users unable to access the app.
The next day, President-Elect Donald Trump posted on social media promising to delay the ban, despite his views on the app four years earlier when he had also called for a ban. Less than 24 hours after TikTok shut down, American users were welcomed back to the platform.
A year prior, President Biden had signed a bill into action requiring TikTok to be sold to an American buyer within nine months or face a total ban. It stated that app stores could be fined up to $5000 for each person who downloaded or updated TikTok after the ban was enacted. The bill passed with a vote of 79-18.
Leading up to Trump’s inauguration, the Supreme Court upheld the federal law to ban TikTok. However, Biden did not reinforce the ban as it went into effect on his last day in office, leaving the final verdict to the Trump administration.
Upon Trump’s return to office, he signed an executive order halting enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days.
“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally,” he said.
At the time Trump called for the TikTok ban, he had cited national security concerns posed by the Chinese-owned app, including potential data collection, censorship and propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party. However, the ban did not go into place, as the efforts were blocked by a federal judge who ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority.
As of February 6, TikTok remains unavailable in app stores due to concerns over fines if the TikTok ban is eventually enforced.
A recent poll conducted by The Point Instagram account revealed that 76% of respondents believed TikTok should not be banned.
“I think there’s worse problems in our world that we need to fix besides banning TikTok, and our society depends on social media to connect with each other. TikTok has helped artists and small businesses gain popularity and success,” junior Ariena Thurairajah said.
TikTok’s fate remains uncertain. ByteDance has not indicated that it would sell TikTok, but is exploring several options that would allow TikTok to continue to operate. Trump has advocated for a 50-50 joint stock venture between parent company ByteDance and an American company. Potential buyers include Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
Regardless of the outcome, TikTok has solidified itself as a core part of millions of lives and it is determined to stay.