On January 18, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the banning of the popular social media app, Tiktok, because of the national security concerns over the app’s ties to the Chinese Government, according to CBS News.
The ban was anticipated to occur on January 19, 2025, but took place around 10:30 p.m. the night before. Tiktok users were devastated, trying to soak up their last hours on the app, before a message popped up, stopping Tiktok users from scrolling
The message read as follows: “A law banning Tiktok has enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use Tiktok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate Tiktok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
The next morning, Tiktok slowly started working again for everyone in the United States, unless you deleted the app, due to Tiktok no longer being available on the app store. Tiktok is currently not fully unbanned in the US, but the app is temporarily available due to an executive order by President Donald Trump, granting a 75-day extension, according to USA Today.
Going forward, Tiktok continues to work with President Trump for a permanent solution that will keep Tiktok in the United States, not only for the 170 million people in the US that use Tiktok daily, but also the 7 million small businesses that have been created from the app.
Will Tiktok find a permanent way to stay on our phones, or will the ban eventually take place, and erase the app forever?