You wake up, check your phone like you do every day, and realize you’re missing an app. 

You start to worry that you deleted it, so you go to your app store and realize it is not there, either.

 Now, what is going on? Why is TikTok missing? Was it a dream or is it?

The United States Government is wondering if we should permit TikTok as a usable app in the United States. 

“TikTok provides something for me to do in my free time along with I find music on there that I really like,” says Isabella Rivera, Freshman, at SJHS

More than thirty states have already banned TikTok and now the government is thinking about banning it from all the states in the US. North Carolina, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania’s neighboring Ohio are just a few. 

Some other countries, including Jordan, Bangladesh, India, and Australia,  have already banned it. 

To keep the app available, the US has asked the owner of TikTok, Zhang Yiming, to sell it to the US. The United States is scared that the Chinese will access TikTok and use it to spy on Americans. 

The main reason TikTok might get banned is security issues. The government says China can use TikTok to figure out where you are and your personal information. 

In theory, they might be able to figure out how to get into your bank account, your Social Security number, and many more things like figuring out how the U.S. works and the average life of an American citizen.

We live in a digital age and the amount of damage that can be done with your information is incalculable. 

Or potentially even worse, what if they manage to get information on people with national security clearances, or just local officials?

With 37% of Americans using TikTok, it would make most of them angry if it was banned. 

Some people think it will get banned and some think it won’t. 

“I don’t think it will be banned since the government relies on it to keep relations with China.” Says Pleasant Valley Freshman, George Massi. 

You get to see new people from around the world and see their cultures and sports, and most of all people just have fun while doing it. 

Tiktok provides a window into the world that we otherwise would never have.  

So, if it gets banned people will be angry at the fact of not having anything to do in their free time.