Skip to Content
A shs student showing the loading screen when they open the TikTok app.
A shs student showing the loading screen when they open the TikTok app.
Olivia Celano
Categories:

Explaining the “TikTok Ban”

What’s the future of the iconic app?
Introduction to the TikTok ban bill!
The notification TikTok users got when they tried to access the app after the temporary shutdown was put into place. (Jordan Cook)

With all the media’s involvement in the viral “TikTok Ban,” it can be hard to determine what information is true and what is false. A common question that viewers have is: what does the bill say?

According to the Tiktok Inc. v. Garland document, published by the Supreme Court, while TikTok is operated in the U.S. by an American company, located in California, the main concern lies with Tiktok Inc.’s “parent company.” Its ultimate parent company is ByteDance Ltd., which is a private company that operates in China. 

The overall concern that the United States government has lies with national security and for years have taken repeated actions to address this issue. The case document states that ByteDance Ltd. is “subject to Chinese laws” which requires them to “assist and cooperate” with the Chinese government’s intelligence work and to ensure that the Chinese government has the “power to access and control private data” the company holds. 

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act prohibits  distributing, maintaining, or providing internet hosting services for a foreign adversary controlled application such as TikTok.

Congress.gov explains that the bill applies to an application controlled directly or indirectly by ByteDance or Tiktok or a social media company that is controlled by a foreign adversary and has been deemed by the President to be a threat to national security. It notes that the bill will not apply to applications that are primarily used to post reviews, travel information and reviews, business reviews, etc. 

“I don’t think TikTok is a great source of information. From what I understand, it’s a way to waste time,” explains Robert Morris, a teacher at Stroudsburg. “It can be a great form of entertainment but not many people have the discipline to have a limit time on it.”

The Department of Justice is authorized under the Act to investigate “violations of the bill” and “enforce the bill’s provisions.” The bill requires a covered application to “provide a user with all available account data” at the user’s request before the prohibition takes effect. This includes all photos, videos, and posts. 

The Act’s prohibition was set to take effect 270 days after the application is designated a foreign adversary controlled application, which was Jan. 19, 2025.

How does this affect the app?
The app store shows that TikTok and all other ByteDance apps are no longer available to be downloaded. (Olivia Celano)

The new Tik Tok ban in the United States has affected the app in various ways.

The app was removed from the Apple Store so users who deleted the app can no longer redownload it. This also means the app can no longer be updated. 

“I was freaking out because I deleted it five minutes before it came back, but I’ve been pretty fine without it and a lot more productive during the day,” expressed Elizabeth Eberz ‘25.

Reuters, has stated how some US users don’t have the same features and the app feels ‘different’ after the ban. 

When the app came back online after a temporary 12 hour shutdown a few things seemed to have changed. The “For You Page” is now filled with META ads and Trump administration videos. The app has become more political. 

USA TODAY has said Trump’s 75 day extension for the ban has fallen into “gray area.”

Some aspects of the app aren’t fully able to work again due to the shutdown. 

LIVE on Tik Tok has been an issue, such as some people aren’t able to go live anymore since the app is not updated. Going LIVE on Tiktok is a way people are able to make money outside of just posting videos. 

One big thing happening during this ban is people reselling their cell phones. The citizens of the United States are putting up phones with Tik Tok up for sale for others to purchase. People are creating businesses and gaining profit with this new ban being in place. The quality of videos that pop up on the “For You Page” aren’t the best, some videos may come out looking pixelated.

“Everything on the app is normal except how political my ‘For You Page’ has gotten, and sometimes certain buttons on the app don’t work,” explained Cassandra Patel ‘25. 

Users are waiting to see if these changes will last or if they will be fixed in the near future.

How does this affect creators/businesses?
The TikTok Shop option on the app where small businesses sell products. (Crista Kopec)

When TikTok was not under review, people took advantage of the app to advertise their small businesses. Entrepreneurs have a hard time getting started, and especially during COVID-19, finding customers while staying safe was difficult. 

Even though YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat have similar features, some people do not think they are the same.

One entrepreneur in Conyers, Georgia, informed APNews that she was worried about the future of her motor business. Desiree Hill started off by herself, but through TikTok’s audience and with the resulting increase in customers, she was able to hire five people and even open up a shop; Crown’s Corner Mechanic.

Other creators, instead of just using TikTok to advertise their work, sell their products right on the app. People are able to watch a video and click on the link in the description to immediately be taken to the TikTok Shop.

The TikTok Shop is beneficial and attracts the attention of the younger generation; however, some people think it’s deceiving. 

Ryan Louis, ’28, says “I think TikTok Shop is convenient for general things but I also think that some products are falsely advertised and sometimes the product that arrives is not the same as the one you purchased.” 

Despite the controversy of the TikTok Shop, without the app itself, TikTok estimates a loss of more than one billion dollars per month to the small business economy.

The audience that this app grabs is astonishing, and if it gets banned people will find or create other apps to use.   

It’s safe to say that small business owners and even content creators should have a backup plan in place if the ban continues to hold.

When did this start and why should you care?

The ban on Tiktok began in 2020, when President Donald Trump announced it was a security threat to the United States. 

Trump White House explains how up until 2025, democratic and republican politicians have gone back and forth on whether or not the app should be banned, restricted, or remain fully accessible. In August of 2020, Trump signed an executive order stating that ByteDance divested from the app, but then it was turned down by the court. 

The Biden administration reversed it in 2021. Recently, when the court continued with the ban, they said ByteDance must sell it to an American company.

Tiktok was only banned for a few hours, but the ban is now postponed until Trump reviews it. Many users argued that banning the app is a violation of the 1st Amendment, more specifically the freedom of speech. Although this claim seems reasonable, the court ruled that the ban did not violate any amendments and should still be upheld. 

Variety reports how President Donald Trump plans to work with Tiktok CEO Shou Zi Chew in order to squash concerns about the Chinese communism influence on Tiktok users. In return, Chew thanked him on social media. 

According to the New York Times, he will delay the ban by 75 days. He also expresses interest in the app being 50 percent owned by an American business. 

Despite all security concerns, Chew stated that, at the hearing, he has no connection with the Chinese government due to his Singaporean descent.

The app Xiaohongshu (RedNote) as seen on the app store.
What are TikTok refugees?

When TikTok users were trying to figure out what to do about the impending ban, many took to downloading the app, Xiaohongshu (RedNote) in protest. 

RedNote is a Chinese app that looks to be a mix of TikTok and Instagram. 

Claiming to be “TikTok Refugees,” these users began learning Mandarin overnight and, according to the BBC, there are 63,000 posts to and from these refugees where they were taught to use the app, learned basic Chinese phrases, traded cat pictures with the original uses of the app, and even traded homework answers. 

“I downloaded RedNote because I wanted something that felt like TikTok, but it didn’t feel the same so I stopped using it,” commented Alara Kallar, ‘25.

The app quickly became the number one downloaded app in the United States. As of Jan 23, it is number 3. Frustration caused by the law that will ban TikTok and theories that it’s a fight over data that will force citizens of America to download Meta apps has encouraged the deletion of apps like Instagram and Facebook. 

This may stem from “2019 speech that name-checked TikTok just as it was growing popular in the U.S.,” as explained by Yahoo!News, where Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg “personally cited social-media apps exported from China as one of the biggest threats to free speech worldwide.” There have also been many “indirect lobbying efforts by Meta that may have contributed to the passage of the anti-TikTok bill.”

“I don’t care if China has my data,” stated Kallar.

Many people had posted jokes saying “goodbye to their Chinese spy” and saying they’d “willingly give their data to china” before the ban took place.  

Other people have taken to Instagram to continue scrolling after the ban.

While the future of TikTok is unclear, the use of apps like RedNote and Instagram show that another TikTok is bound to show up eventually.

The app Xiaohongshu (RedNote) as seen on the app store. (Olivia Celano)
What are the political theories behind the ban?
A screenshot of the message TikTok users got when the app was brought back online. (Jordan Cook)

After the app was banned and quickly brought back online, theories of a possible PR stunt have made their way through the app with some people believing it was all propaganda. 

The theories stem from messages seen by the TikTok CEO before and after the ban, claiming to be working with President Trump and thanking him for saving the app. People weren’t quick to forget Trump was the first person to propose a ban during his first presidential run. 

In an official statement TikTok said, “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 seven million small businesses to thrive. It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship.”

The mentions of President Trump continued in messages the users received when the app was both taken down and brought online. 

The message users got when the app was restored was, “Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S! You can continue to create, share and discover all the things you love on TikTok.”

“The fact that the first message sent out mentioned how hard Trump was trying to fix it then the next message thanked him before he was president is so suspicious. TikTok had the resources to keep open but they immediately closed it before the inauguration then they opened it to gram trump as a hero. It’s peculiar. Also, a lot of people are talking about how if you block political figures it makes you follow them. I was following JD Vance and I would never willingly choose that,” mentioned Norah McCabe, ‘25. 

Word quickly spread with many users making it clear that this didn’t change their negative views of the president. They took to the app, questioning if anything changed and reminding people Trump was the first to impose a ban. 

One user went as far as making an analogy that “if someone set’s fire to your house and then puts it out, you should still be mad at them for setting the fire” when talking about the ban. 

Angry users took to other social media to share their complaints. According to India Today, one X (formerly Twitter) user commented, “Biggest PR stunt ever. He didn’t even do anything. TikTok took the servers down themselves and then reinstated them 12 hours later. What a farce. Total game well played for both Trump and Elon.” 

Many people accused the platform and the government of using the ban to win over public opinion of Trump. 

This possible façade has called people to question the timing of the ban and it’s short term execution. 

India Today explains how, “The selective targeting of TikTok, despite other platforms with similar data concerns operating without restrictions, has led many to view the move as performative. Critics have labeled it an attempt to shift focus onto Trump’s supposed role as a ‘savior,’ overshadowing genuine cybersecurity discussions.”

So was it a stunt to win over public opinion? No one can say for sure, but there’s plenty of people who think it was and who have enough evidence to prove it as a possibility.

More to Discover