The day before Trump’s inauguration, on Jan. 19, TikTok users were affected by the U.S. ban that lasted only 12 hours.
Days leading up to the ban, social media users panicked and created videos of grieving for TikTok.
“So many people use TikTok as their livelihood,” said Delta social media professor, Tara Cuslidge-Staiano. “Social media in this country is not just a place for people to make content for entertainment, it’s not just that. Social media has become an enterprise. So many people use TikTok, Instagram and other platforms to get their business message out. It would hurt business infrastructure.”
On Jan. 16, TikTok content creator and lawyer Cheyenne Hunt interviewed with NBC News about her TikTok journey and its potential end.
“I came to TikTok for the same reason that many creators did, which you have access to a whole new audience. And you didn’t have to have a gigantic following to have a video go viral,” said Hunt.
TikTok is a Chinese-owned company called ByteDance.
Political leaders have viewed the platform as a threat to American society. Concerns surrounding China uses this platform to spy on American content have been voiced for the past few years.
In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed the “No TikTok” bill, directing that the service be sold to a non-Chinese company if it wished to continue to operate in the United States.
President Donald Trump, who was sworn in for a second term on Jan. 20, issued an executive order to pause the TikTok ban, the day after the initial ban. TikTok will still be banned but users received a 75-day extension.
Hunt was asked if this temporary ban changed TikTok and its future.
“TikTok may be back, but it will never be the same,” said Hunt. “In a remarkable act of political contortion, Donald Trump managed to start the process of a wildly unpopular TikTok ban — utilize the viral platform to power his re-election campaign, frame himself as the savior of the app, and ultimately gain a remarkable amount of influence over the most powerful information ecosystem of our time.”
However, the app is not available to download from Apple and Google app stores.
“Yeah, people are selling iPhones with TikTok, on eBay for $20,000,” said Delta student, Ryan Zamora.
Trump’s 75-day extension is until April 5. If ByteDance decides to sell TikTok to an American company, the platform might be saved.
