Is the Clock Ticking on a TikTok Ban?

On January 18th, at around 10:30 pm, 170 million active TikTok users across the U.S. picked up their phones to see a gray error message flashing across their screens: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now.” A mere 16 hours later, however, the app was back up and running for American viewers. How did this sudden ban come to be, and why was it so short-lived?

TikTok has come a long way since its Musical.ly days, the original platform that had users share short lip-sync videos. Over the past decade, TikTok has grown to over 1.9 billion active users and holds the title for the third most downloaded app in 2024. Initially released exclusively in  China, created by the company ByteDance, the app changed its name to TikTok when it expanded internationally and entered the U.S. market in 2018. It took off instantly, standing out by focusing on short, addictive content rather than social connections that other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram emphasize. It’s For You Page, or FYP, is the default screen that appears when you open the app, displaying a curated stream of content tailored to your past interests. As Alex Hern explains in his article “How TikTok’s algorithm made it a success: ‘It pushes the boundaries,’” “The most powerful tool TikTok has to grab users and keep them hooked is the company’s feted ‘For You Page,’ and the algorithm that populates it. That decision already gave the company a leg up compared to the competition: a Facebook or Twitter account with no friends or followers is a lonely, barren place, but TikTok is engaging from day one.” However, this uncannily-accurate algorithm, that drew so many people to the app in the first place, might have also been the cause of its potential downfall.

From the beginning, the app has been under scrutiny from parts of the U.S. government, who worried its access to user data could be exploited by the Chinese government. In 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating all TikTok transactions and user interaction would be banned after 45 days unless ByteDance sold TikTok to a U.S. based company (Executive Order on Addressing the Threat Posed by TikTok). When President Joe Biden took office in 2021, his administration paused the push for a sale. However, in April of 2024, the Senate passed a bill forcing ByteDance to sell in nine months, extending the initial six month deadline. This brought us to January of 2025, leaving only a few weeks until the beloved app was set to disappear on January 19th. Revise end of sentence to reflect where we are now timewise and ban-wise. In the weeks leading up to the deadline, the aforementioned FYP began to fill with news pertaining to the upcoming ban, especially focusing on responses from representatives. Massachusetts senators were especially vocal in their concerns about the ban, particularly Senator Ed Markey and Senator Elizabeth Warren, who took two different stances.

In 2023, Senator Warren aligned herself with national security concerns raised across the U.S. In a release from Warren’s office, Warren states, “For too long, giant tech companies have exploited consumers’ data, invaded Americans’ privacy, threatened our national security, and stomped out competition in our economy.” She introduced a bipartisan bill along with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina that has yet to be acted upon: The Bipartisan Digital Consumer Protection Commission Act, which would create a new federal agency to protect the privacy and security of digital consumers, especially forTikTok users.

Senator Markey, on the other hand, expressed concerns about the potential free speech limitations of the ban. Along with Senators Ron Wyden, Cory Booker, and Representative Ro Khanna, Markey unveiled the Extend the TikTok Deadline Act in January of 2025, to do exactly as the name suggests: extend the sale deadline by an additional 270 days. Markey addressed the U.S. Senate, saying, “The TikTok ban was rushed through without sufficient consideration of the profound consequences it would have on the 170 million Americans who use the platform. Today, TikTok is a space where users share critical resources during emergencies such as the Los Angeles wildfires, earn money to cover groceries and medical care, and build community in challenging times.” Despite his efforts to change the deadline, he didn’t receive the unanimous vote from the Senate that he needed, and the ban proceeded as planned.

On Saturday, January 18th, ByteDance had failed to sell the platform to an American company, and the app shut down a few hours ahead of its federal deadline. After its brief dark period, President Trump promised to issue an order granting ByteDance more time to sell, providing “the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans,” as TikTok claimed in a post on X. 

In a move that seemed strategically timed, President Trump made the announcement just a day before his inauguration. The final public message to users mentioned Trump, reading, “Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”

TikTok’s future is still uncertain, but for now, you can return your FYP, watch viral videos and new trends, and create dances without worrying about an imminent ban.