Ciara Celeste| Journalist
On Facebook, you’ll see more of your family, relatives and local community. On Instagram, you’ll see more professional videos and photography. But on TikTok, you could be more relaxed, unedited—just venting freely with less judgment.
So the ban really shook the world. But the ban only affected people in America, so other countries continued to use the app. Some influencers even started revealing deep, dark secrets on the last day of the ban, according to YouTuber The Unpopular Party. The platform went dark for 170 million Americans due to the federal ban. When any viewer tried to access the app, they were met with a message saying it was no longer available in the United States.
Americans were saddened by the app’s disappearance, but even more upset to see editing app CapCut and Lemon8 also unavailable, as they all belong to parent company ByteDance. ByteDance had until Sunday, January 19, to sell the app or the US would ban it entirely, according to PBS.org. It was reported that Trump wanted 50% ownership of TikTok.
One of the problems was that TikTok was using its platform in the United States without providing the US with any profit. Another issue was that “ByteDance had to cut ties with the platform’s US operations due to national security concerns raised by the app’s Chinese roots,” PBS.org reported.
The app was unavailable to Americans for 14 hours—14 long hours of trying to find another app to boost our dopamine levels. And then the dark light came on and the app came back to us. Americans were surprised, confused, but happy to return the app.
Viewers felt their First Amendment rights were violated. Many people use this app to share their opinions, argue and inform others about various topics. TikTok gave music artists a platform to go viral, served as an educational tool, and provided an outlet for fun and relaxation. We will all stay tuned and hope for longevity in this app.
