Did you know before TikTok was banned in the USA it got banned in India? On January 18, 2025, TikTok was banned in the U.S.A. because it was seen as harmful to the country.
The app “Tik Tok” got banned on Jan. 18, 2024, and there are several reasons provided as to why. One of them being national security concerns. TikTok stems primarily from China through its parent company, ByteDance. The company’s owner was worried about handing it over to America. Security bases are likely in search of their huge user base, and these China-based companies have access to people’s things, like user databases. It was always tracking people in the USA. Google explains, “requiring Chinese company ByteDance to sell off the social media app within six months or it would be permanently banned from all the people in the United States. The ban would force Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores and service providers to block the browser version of the app in the United States.”
Who is responsible for this ban? Known as the 45th president of the U.S., Donald Trump has sparked the conversation of getting an app called “Tik Tok,” banned all across the United States. This was approximately during the time of 2020 when he claimed it was a national threat. So, it was up to President Biden whether he would pass the ban or not. It states in the “NYTimes “ article, “President Biden signed the legislation into law in April, giving ByteDance until Jan. 19 to divest from TikTok. “TikTok had been under fire for some time, but this time, they decided to go through with this act. Therefore, Donald Trump took a big part in this ban.
President Trump helped reduce the TikTok ban. On Jan. 18, hours before midnight, TikTok went dark, messaging users that the app was banned. TechTarget states, “Approximately 12 hours later, service was restored, thanks to President Donald Trump, signed Jan. 20, 2025, that gave TikTok an extra 75 days to comply with the law.” After everybody was going crazy because the app was banned. Donald Trump decided to make everybody’s life better by bringing it back 12 hours later. Although Donald Trump got TikTok unbanned. It is a possibility that TikTok may be banned again.
When TikTok got banned around the U.S., the users of TikTok were devastated. Although the ban was rumored, the users didn’t quite know if it truly was going to happen. TikTok being banned has been a discussion for a while now, but on January 18, around 9 o’clock, TikTok was shut down on all phones. Anyone who opened the TikTok app was shown a message stating, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been 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!” with the option to learn more or close the app. After TikTok was banned, 7th-grade student Victoria Gullien shared, “I started crying because it was sad, because TikTok is a part of my life.” This shows how people were despairing once TikTok was banned.
Did you know that over 100 million Americans use TikTok? Imagine the impact on their lives if they could no longer connect through it. Just think about how many people were sad when they got that message across their phone. People use TikTok for a lot of different things, such as cooking, outfit ideas, nail inspiration, hair inspiration, and entertainment. Without TikTok, people won’t be able to do these things. Other apps aren’t the same as TikTok.