The social media app, “TikTok”, has risen to become one of the top platforms in the world, and is used by many students, whether it’s for entertainment or for news. However, as of recently, it has faced legal complications that led to a nationwide ban, which left many teenagers in a frenzy.
U.S. officials have sounded the alarm for years regarding the risk TikTok poses to the security of users in the country, and Congress finally took action by forcing it’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or have it wiped off the U.S. market. A deadline of January 19th was given to the company, which was not met, as the company failed to be sold.
There have been previous rumors of the government banning TikTok over the years, but it has never actually been enacted, leading to a lack of belief from some users. As confirmation of the ban spread, users were outraged and began to genuinely worry about losing this reliable source of entertainment and such close knit communities online.
Around 7 PM on January 18th, TikTok officially became unavailable in app stores, and it voluntarily shut down its service to users. In the span of this week, President Trump had vowed to “bring it back” and was considering an option to extend the deadline of the law going into effect for 90 days, since he supports the app completely.
This potential ban caused alarm for many in the Galileo community. “I was mentally prepared, because I don’t only use Tik Tok, but I was kind of upset because when it did go away, I kept clicking on the app out of instinct but it wouldn’t load,” said junior Michelle L.
During this short period of time, many began to wonder what other platforms they might use in their boredom. “I wouldn’t care, because I have alternatives like Instagram or some other Chinese platform,” junior Lily D. remarked.
Some, like junior Isaiah, were prepared, though. “I’m already on Rednote, so, no problem there.” Unfortunately, many may handle the situation like sophomore Nate L., who said: “I would cry tears of sadness and go into a deep depression. I would probably never talk to anyone ever again.”
The following day, not even 24 hours later, TikTok’s services began being restored for users across the nation, resulting in mass satisfaction from people everywhere. “It was really unfortunate to see that so many communities were going to disappear, but it’s back now so I don’t know how to feel,” stated senior Emily T.
Physics teacher Mr. O also commented on TikTok being reinstated, saying: “I wasn’t surprised. I thought [the ban] was extremely dumb, but when you think about the people who are making decisions, they definitely weren’t happy. When you look at the power folks like Meta and other social media companies want to get, it’s not a surprise that they would want to take out the competition.”
