As most of you are aware, TikTok was officially banned on January 19, 2025…for a whopping 14 hours. The video sharing social media app was banned after a bill passed by Congress declared it a threat to national security. With the app being owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, public officials were concerned that the Chinese government was using TikTok to infiltrate American devices and gain access to important data through civilian’s phones. While the decision to pass the 2024 bill was controversial, with some arguing the US government was stripping Americans of their first amendment rights, the legislation was approved by a majority of 79 senators with the main goal of maintaining national security.
The decision to ban Tik-Tok in itself was clearly complicated by talks of citizens rights, the attempt to negotiate with China, and of course politics. And yet it continues to get even more confusing given the fact that the app was inaccessible for less than a day. What happened to spark such a sudden change? How could such a bill be overturned within a single day? And most importantly, how does this situation affect us as American citizens?
All of these answers lead back to US President Donald Trump. President Trump initially brought the issue to the table back in 2020, and President Trump restored TikTok to use in 2025. According to the President, this stark change of opinion is due to his need to protect his voters’ free-speech rights, and he believes that he can do so while still maintaining national security standards.
Therefore, Trump issued a statement promising to pause the current law (for up to 90 days), assuring no negative consequences would come to big tech companies that support the China-based app while negotiations continue between ByteDance and the Trump Administration. This “promise” has sparked an entirely new controversy surrounding the TikTok ban as tech officials, legal experts, and lawmakers alike are divided over the validity of Trump’s statement.
As of this point, TikTok’s precarious fate remains in the air as further negotiations are supposedly being made. Some public officials, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who believe that the ban will ultimately be enforced at the end of the day, encourage Americans to make their own decisions to avoid the use of the app. Others, Republicans and Democrats alike, encourage the exact opposite.
Ultimately, it is safe to say that Tik-Tok has become a point of contention both between and within political parties, creating yet another divide within our already polarized political landscape. While the future of Tik-Tok and other social media channels are unclear at the moment, so too remains the future of digital users and their first amendment leniencies.