On March 13, 2024, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill requiring Chinese company ByteDance to sell social media app TikTok by Jan. 19 or divest from all U.S. operations. Months later, on Jan. 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court established a federal law banning the app.
Just hours before the scheduled nationwide ban on Jan. 19, the app shut down, sending all its American users an error message. The message read: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. 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!” But less than 24 hours later, the app seemed to have miraculously come back.
Congress’s decision to pass the legislation a while before the brief shutdown arose from national security concerns regarding the Chinese government’s possible acquisition of users’ data and attempt to disperse misinformation.
Before the ban, U.S. government officials already weren’t allowed to download the app. Similar rules have been created by many other countries’ governments such as Australia, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
Initially, the law that former President Joe Biden signed in April 2024 targeted the app stores of all smartphone systems. They were not allowed to have the app downloaded or updated unless they were willing to face civil penalties.
The entire situation, even before the date of the ban, affected the 170 million American TikTok users, a number that accounts for roughly half of the country’s population. Many considered this to be an act of restriction on social media apps and the right to free speech, which could potentially have grave implications regarding tech law and the honesty of the internet, according to experts.
Looking into the impact the ban had on the WIS community, TikTok has always been a special app to users like senior Elle Murphy.
“It was a very heartfelt app to me, I’ve had it since Musical.ly,” Murphy said, referencing Tiktok’s predecessor. “TikTok was where I was able to socialize and see my friends when I couldn’t go out.”
Sophomore Sofia Vereta-Dadarlat reinforces Murphy’s sentiment.
“[TikTok] is a place where [my friends and I] can share entertainment,” Vereta-Dadarlat said. “[It is a platform] where me and my friends can make videos together and have fun.”
When discussions on the ban initially arose, Vereta-Dadarlat was confused with all of the information being spread.
“I realized that this instance of its banning was a lot more complex,” Vereta-Dadarlat said. “But when it actually got banned and returned when Biden was still in office, I thought it was a shock.”
When Murphy was informed of the confirmed ban, her reaction was rather mixed.
“I was sad, but I was looking forward to it because I thought I would get my attention span back and become more productive,” Murphy said.
This was different from the consensus reaction that Murphy observed.
“People were really depressed about it. Everyone was trying to save their TikTok drafts and favorites,” Murphy said.
However, Vereta-Dadarlat noticed the opposite among her friends, as not many were particularly bothered by the decision.
“Between my close group of friends, we weren’t that upset about it, but some others in our group had stronger opinions,” Vereta-Dadarlat said. “For most of us, we could live without TikTok.”
Murphy had deleted the app two days after the temporary shutdown.
“Personally, I liked [the ban],” she said. “It helped me try to stay off my phone and read more for leisure.”
As for Vereta-Dadarlat, her immediate thought was that she couldn’t believe it at first. However, she was eventually convinced that the entire situation was a stunt.
“I think it was banned as a stunt because it was gone for about 12 hours,” Vereta-Dadarlat said. “The only thing [that was] said after [the ban was uplifted] was: ‘Thank you President Trump.’”
In the future, Vereta-Dadarlat thinks that there will be a pandemic of misinformation regarding TikTok’s presence in the U.S.
“There are probably going to be more either rumors or threats to ban it based on the same ideas,” Vereta-Dadarlat said. “For now, I just know that it’s back.”
Overall, according to Vereta-Dadarlat, the consequences go beyond that of restrictions on the content and entertainment younger generations are exposed to.
“I think the consequences [are] that [for] all the people who have made businesses and have [gotten] jobs [from] TikTok, it will be harder for them to get back on their feet and find another platform to work [with],” Vereta-Dadarlat said.
Once President Donald Trump was inaugurated, one of his first executive orders delayed the ban by 75 days, which explains the direct shout-out on the error message. This executive order gave ByteDance time to sell it to an owner outside of China, allowing them to follow the original conditions set by the Supreme Court law.
Nevertheless, what remains uncertain is whether the app will find its way back to the app stores. Regardless, the app may pose some technical issues and will no longer be allowed to update itself for individuals who already had the app before Jan. 19.
The day the prohibition was temporarily lifted, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew thanked the president for his efforts in un- banning the platform. Beyond this initial move, Trump is attempting to assess various ways to unban it permanently, such as signing another executive order that won’t allow the Supreme Court’s law to be carried out permanently or temporarily until the situation is settled.
The situation evolved on Feb. 13, when app stores in the U.S. allowed the app to be downloaded again. According to NPR, Google and Apple made this decision after reassurance from Attorney General Pam Bondi that Trump and his administration would not penalize them for supporting TikTok. Nonetheless, legal experts have noted that this action could still be considered an infringement of the law.
It is unclear today whether ByteDance is willing to sell TikTok to a foreign company, despite several buyers showing interest. Therefore, if the company does not sell it by April 5 and can no longer receive legal protection, TikTok will most likely be officially banned.
By Selena Said and Sophia Li
