The TikTok ban has been a point of conversation for millions of Americans since its announcement and sudden return, but how did it get to this point?
Toward the end of his first term in office, President Donald Trump issued two executive orders banning American companies from any transactions with ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, according to NPR.
According to the New York Times, former President Biden signed a bill forcing TikTok to either sell to a U.S. company or be banned in the country.
An article from PBS said TikTok fought a legal battle against this new law, taking it through several appellate courts before finally making it to the Supreme Court, where the law was unanimously upheld.
TikTok was set to be banned on January 19, 2025. American users were devastated and enraged, taking to other platforms to air their grievances. Even more chaos ensued when the app went dark 2.5 hours before it was slated to.
Ryan Mayer, a first-year pre-nursing student, was so upset she immediately deleted the app, a move she would come to regret.
“I’m just so mad. I mean I already deleted the app from my phone,” Mayer said.
Dr. Montana Miller, a pop culture professor at BGSU, illuminated some of the factors that led to TikTok’s effect on the youth population and the devastation surrounding its ban.
“I do think that TikTok has had a wider reach than other social media platforms…through its addictive nature and powerful algorithm,” Miller said.
The pull that Miller describes was a major contribution to the outrage that surrounded the ban, and its early onset.
At around 10:30 p.m. on January 18, 2025, TikTok went dark for its more than 170 million American users. Many turned immediately to other platforms to post about the loss.
Only 13 hours after the ban took effect, TikTok seems to be back up and running for its American users. Although only those with the app still on their phone could access it, ByteDance products are still unavailable on app stores.
American TikTok users quickly took to the app to rejoice in its return and to see what they had missed during their brief time away.
Miller also described what makes TikTok so enticing to its users, causing them to immediately run back to the app, rather than continue to use other platforms.
“While going down an Internet ‘rabbit hole’ is tantalizing on other sites such as YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook, TikTok feeds us consecutive videos within a theme…in a way that makes it hard to look away,” Miller said.
So, what does this mean for TikTok? As of right now, it seems that TikTok is on the path to legality. They issued a statement following the restoration of the app, and thanking President Trump.
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” TikTok stated in a post on X, adding that they plan to work with Trump to find a long-term solution.
It seems that TikTok is in the clear for now, pending any issue with the Trump Administration, or the courts system.
