On January 19 2025, the app TikTok was banned in the United States. There were rumors weeks before about this ban, but at the time, nobody thought it would actually happen. But on January 18 2025 at 9:00 pm, TikTok was officially banned.
U.S officials have repeatedly warned that the app threatens national security because the Chinese government could use it as a vehicle to spy on Americans by implying certain content, CBS News states. Congress determined that TikTok was a security threat to many TikTok users. On January 10, there was a court case to discuss the ban of TikTok.
TikTok’s lawyer did not deny the potential national security risks as the judges appeared critical of the company’s legal challenge. In defending the law, the Justice Department pointed out two main national security justifications, countering China’s collection of data from 170 million U.S TikTok users. A law was passed by a bipartisan majority in congress in 2024, and TikTok became unavailable to users in 2025.
The app was banned for only 12 hours— much shorter than intended. Even though it was only banned for 12 hours, people on every social media platform were expressing distress after losing it. Everyone was posting how heartbroken they were that the beloved app was no longer available.
At 9:00 pm on January 18, a day earlier than the ban was supposed to happen, users opened their app and were greeted with the message: “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 President Trump has indicated that he will work on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!” Screaming, crying, throwing up!
CNN Business states President Trump signed off an executive order to delay the enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days. The action says that the 75-day delay will help Trump attempt to “determine the appropriate course forward in an orderly way that protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of the TikTok platform used by millions of Americans.”
The ban of TikTok shocked many worldwide, but many took it more seriously than ever, considering this isn’t the first time TikTok has gotten banned. In December of 2019, the U.S army and Navy banned TikTok on government devices after the Department of Defense labeled it as a security risk. In the summer of 2020, India banned TikTok in response to the border clash with China.
The questions are piling up. Will TikTok become banned again at the end of the 75 days? Or will it remain for good? Should citizens have a say in this matter? All we know for sure is that for the next 75 days, we will be bingeing all of the dancing, singing, cooking, and laughs that we can.
