TikTok, released in 2016, originated shortly after the short-form video app Musical.ly. TikTok became a popular social media platform allowing users to “create, watch, and share short videos on mobile devices or webcams”. Since then, TikTok has boomed creating stories, connections, and jobs all over the world. However, since entering the market, TikTok has been under scrutiny for concerns about data privacy. “To distance itself from the allegations of transferring international user data back to China, TikTok was entirely separated from ByteDance’s Chinese operations in 2019. In November 2019, Senator Marco Rubio and the U.S. government launched a review of ByteDance’s acquisition of social media app Musical.ly., which represented the point of entry for the Beijing-based ByteDance into the U.S. market”.
In August of 2020, Donald Trump’s administration issued an executive order to ban TikTok because it was deemed a national threat to security. “The order cited the risk of user data being transferred to Chinese political entities, as well as foreign disinformation campaigns on the COVID-19 origins. Additionally, a federal class-action lawsuit alleged that sensitive data, such as biometric profiles and personal identifiable information, were being sent to Chinese servers”.
In February 2021, Joe Biden revoked Trump’s executive order and aided in setting clear criteria for when technology and information systems pose a national security risk. The executive order nullifying the ban was passed on June 9, 2021.
Next, in March 2022, there was an announcement that TikTok was in the works with the Committee of Foreign Investment to arrange a “third-party data hosting of all its U.S. users’ information. In June 2022, TikTok moved its U.S. data to Oracle servers, in what has come to be known as “Project Texas.” Under the Oracle partnership, the Chinese ByteDance was restricted from accessing the data to safeguard the privacy of U.S. users and minimize risks of foreign intelligence interference”.
Based on this timeline, there has been a lot of back and forth between both the Biden and Trump administrations just on TikTok alone. Very recently, on January 19, TikTok was banned for all users. However, just 14 hours later it was unbanned and back in business. When users opened the app they received the message, “Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” In the short period during which TikTok was banned, there was an uproar in conversation. People took to other social media platforms to express their outrage, confusion, and frustration, with some users scrambling to back up their content or switch to alternative platforms like Xiaohongshu (also called RedNote in English), a Chinese photo-sharing and social app which accumulated around 700,000 new users in the first 15 days of January 2025 “as American users protested the ban”.
You may be asking, “what now?” Well, Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday, January 20 to keep TikTok operating for 75 days which means “TikTok’s China-based parent ByteDance was supposed to find a U.S. buyer or be banned on Jan. 19. Trump’s order could give ByteDance more time to find a buyer”. When I originally wrote this, I had deleted the app from my mobile device and was unable to download it back on the App Store. However, as of February 13, 2025, it became downloadable on iPhones and Androids again. My friends are now telling me to redownload the app, but I am hesitant because of the political agenda behind it all. Are users like us just ploys in this game of propaganda?
The TikTok ban and its swift reversal highlight more than just national security and data privacy concerns; it points to a larger narrative about political distractions and a shift of public focus. While the back-and-forth on TikTok captivates headlines and social media discourse, it’s hard not to question whether this debate served as a diversion from more significant issues at hand. By centering public attention on the polarizing issue of TikTok, larger, more pressing concerns within the administration such as challenging the birthright policy, dismantling Federal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement, have been pushed into the shadows. This strategy isn’t new to politics and the TikTok chronicle, while interesting and symbolic of our digital era, it raises the question: how much of the conflict was about protecting user data, and how much was about leveraging a trending platform to shift the narrative away from larger issues happening within government?
This leads me to discuss the issue of censorship more in-depth. Censorship, at its core, is the suppression or restriction of information, speech, or expression, often by governments, institutions, or other corporations. In the past, it’s been used to control public narratives like restricting access to certain books and freedom of speech. Censorship continues to be used today still in these situations and through the regulation of social media platforms, as seen in the recent TikTok ban. While censorship has been justified under the role of national security or misinformation control, it raises concerns about who gets to decide what information is accessible and what remains hidden. In democratic societies, censorship shows itself in more subtle ways like content moderation, algorithmic suppression, and platform banning. However, as social media has become the dominant space for communication, the line between responsible regulation and obvious censorship has become increasingly blurred.
Censorship isn’t just about what gets removed or regulated but about who holds the power to decide what people can and cannot see. In this digital era, TikTok has obviously taken over, becoming the most popular platform people use today. The debate over TikTok’s ban brings forward larger concerns about whether security threats are being used as an excuse for bigger issues. Therefore, when a platform is censored or outright banned, it’s not just an attack on one app but on how we can freely communicate and share information from all over the world.
Additionally, the TikTok ban and its surprising reversal brings me to question whether this was truly about national security or if it was a strategic move to control digital narratives and communities. The timing of the ban, followed by a pro-Trump message displayed among TikTok’s return, raises concerns about how digital spaces are being leveraged for political influence. If the platform posed a legitimate security threat, why was it available again just hours later with a message that credited Trump for its return? Furthermore, the choice of targeting TikTok, with other apps like X (formerly known as Twitter) that take a large amount of user data remained untouched. Of course, national security concerns should never be ignored, but the TikTok controversy serves as a reminder that restricting access to platforms is not just about security anymore. It’s about power, influence, and the ability to dictate what information the public engages with. I leave you with this: Stay informed, question everything presented to you, and continue using your voice.