TikTok has been at the center of youth culture for years, but this month has put its loyalties to the test with the implementation of a new act by the Supreme Court.
Rumors about a federal ban on TikTok have circulated for years, so when the enormously popular app was once again placed under harsh scrutiny by the United States government, its 170 million American users had little to worry about. Yet these rumors came to fruition on the evening of January 18th when the app went dark across the country, only for it to be up and running less than 24 hours later.
On January 10th, lawmakers brought TikTok to court over national security concerns in TikTok v. Garland, as the app is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. Supreme Court Justices across the political spectrum showed skepticism for the app and its defense. Fears of propaganda and manipulation by foreign governments were among the top priorities addressed.
TikTok’s lawyers, as well as content creators, argued that the ban was unconstitutional and violated the First Amendment right to free speech. Many felt that banning an entire app could open the doors to dangerous levels of political censorship.
Unfortunately, the Supreme Court was not convinced. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, a conservative, emphasized the point of security, saying China “would use that information over time to develop spies, to turn people, to blackmail people…,” insinuating that TikTok was a tool used to spy on and manipulate the American people.
This has raised controversy after Apple instated “Apple Intelligence,” an AI feature that tracks data to personalize the user’s experiences. As the ruling grew imminent, so did uncertainty among the public. Why isn’t an American company held to the same standards as a foreign one? Why have they been allowed to take data from citizens? Although foreign companies like ByteDance could pose a higher risk, the American public should be provided the same decency and level of privacy across all applications.
Despite these worries, the biggest concerns people had revolved around their personal entertainment. Rangeview students held mixed feelings about the ban.
Senior Aaralyn Eastman said, “I’m actually glad about the idea of it getting banned because then I’ll actually get my work done…but I know people will just move to other apps.”
Not everyone was happy, though, such as Junior Juliana Marquez, who didn’t understand the ban’s purpose. “We’ve basically grown up with apps like this, like Musical.ly,” she said. “It’s so dumb.”
Contrary to what experts predicted would happen, TikTok went dark on Saturday, January 18th, at 8:30 pm MST, with a popup stating their services were temporarily unavailable, made possible by the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” delivered by the Supreme Court. This happened to affect Americans living abroad as well, since their accounts were created while residing in the US.
However, on January 19th, users were surprised to see that TikTok was running again in the United States. When opening the app, users were shown a similar popup saying, “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, service is back in the U.S.!”
A longer statement was posted on X:
“In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. 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 7 million small businesses to thrive.
It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
Speculation surrounding these long-term solutions has risen, but many suspect the possible sale and distribution of TikTok to a US-based company such as Meta. Alternatively, stricter laws could be implemented regarding data collection or algorithms.
According to NBC, Trump pushed for the ban to be delayed until after his inauguration, where he’d be able to provide the necessary deals to keep TikTok running while maintaining national security. His interference allowed for a 90-day extension, so there will be more opportunities to negotiate a deal. This is a departure from his original views on TikTok, which he advocated to ban during his first presidential term.
TikTok’s ban and subsequent return have raised many questions about the impact of the government on social media and the general public, especially as discussion of censorship becomes more and more apparent every day. Although losing TikTok poses many benefits, as it has its fair share of problems, the sole motivation behind the ban should not be the very thing the government allows other US-based companies to do. Allowing this ban could promote hypocrisy and a concerning overstep by national law.
Unfortunately, the app is unavailable to download or distribute on app stores, meaning only people who had the app before the ban are able to use it. TikTok may now be working for its current users, but its future is still uncertain.
