A current event that’s been happening is the U.S government still in progress of getting a popular app among teens, kids, and young adults banned across the U.S. This app is called TikTok and this ban is getting people angry with the U.S government for wanting to ban the app where people spread their creativity. Many people’s source of income also comes from TikTok by selling their products on TikTok shops and going live. The reason for the ban is due to China stealing data from U.S citizens, but if that really is the reason then they would get rid of other apps like YouTube, Twitter, etc. The ban was set to take place January 19, 2025.
TikTok released in September 2016. Ever since then it’s been the most downloaded app across the world. Since TikTok has been out, many have made accounts and started to create videos to share among the platform. Many people that have TikTok have come from an app called “musical.ly”. Musical.ly changed to TikToK on August 2, 2018. Based on npr.org they’ve stated that the app will no longer be in app stores and “Web-hosting providers must cut ties with the platform or be subject to fines of $5,000 for each user that can still access the service, a penalty that can easily add up to billions of dollars.” The only way for TikTok not to get banned is if it gets owned by a non-Chinese owner or the app gets sold to the U.S (cited from CNN).
If TikTok were to actually get banned, how would it be? If the app actually passed to get banned, the app wouldn’t disappear from people’s phones. However, the app will start developing glitches and eventually stop working (nytimes.com). There’s other theories like the app will get deleted off your phone and app stores so no one can access it, however no one is entirely sure what might occur when or if the ban does happen, so we’ll just have to wait until then. I believe that the owner of TikTok will eventually sell it to the U.S or let someone else co-own the app. There’s many possibilities of what might happen to this beloved app among this generation, people are just waiting to see what will take place.
On January 18 around 8-9 p.m, the ban took place. This was earlier than expected and many were confused. During this time, I was using TikTok and noticed that it started lagging a bit. I didn’t expect the ban to happen sooner so I thought it was just my connection. When I tried exiting the app and then going back in, a notification popped up when I entered the app specifying the app will no longer be available until further notice. People all over social media were posting about this and upset that the ban actually took place and earlier than expected. The next day, TikTok came back. People were confused that the ban lasted so short and were confused overall of what was going on. On Sunday, Trump stated that he promises to save the app and allow people in the U.S to access it again (cnn.com). It’s amazing how an app can hold so many people together to create content and express themselves in different ways to share all over the world. We can only hope that TikTok won’t get officially banned some day, and people are able to continue making the content that many see and love everyday.
