On April 24, 2024, the United States government passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The bill prohibits the distribution and operation of social media platforms owned by adversaries of the United States, specifically TikTok. The Chinese tech company ByteDance, owner of the popular social media platform, was given an ultimatum: divest TikTok to an American buyer in 270 days, or the platform will be banned in the United States.
ByteDance refused to divest, and a few hours before the January 19, 2025 deadline, TikTok ceased operations in the United States. Users attempting to access the app were confronted with a message informing them that the app was unavailable in their region. TikTok was also removed from all app stores in the United States, leaving a note explaining the situation to anyone trying to search for the app. TikTok’s user base was infuriated with the decision, and in protest, many users migrated to another social media platform, called RedNote. As RedNote is also a Chinese-owned social media platform, the migration between apps was largely a protest of the United States government policy.
However, the shutdown was short-lived. TikTok was brought back online around noon on Sunday, despite the app still being unavailable for download on app stores. Users were greeted with a message informing them that TikTok was back due to the efforts of President Trump. On January 20, 2025, after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for TikTok’s shutdown by 75 days. The President will work with ByteDance to find a buyer for TikTok during this period to prevent a full shutdown. “Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it,” Trump said about TikTok at a rally moments before his inauguration. Some possible buyers include Elon Musk, a member of the Trump administration and owner of X (formerly Twitter), and Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle.
The involvement of President Trump surrounding TikTok and helping to find a buyer for the platform is highly controversial. In 2020, President Trump initiated the United States government’s push to ban the popular social media platform, calling a national emergency against TikTok and signing an executive order attempting to ban the platform. Critics of Trump’s actions see his present support of the platform as a political play to try to gain goodwill from social media users. There is also the concern of Trump’s political intentions with helping TikTok find a buyer; is his support of the platform genuine or is he just trying to gain more control over the media by handing it off to someone who will use the platform to promote his agenda? Both Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) and Elon Musk are connected with the Trump administration and publicly support the President. Trump controlling TikTok could give him a dangerous amount of control over social media in the United States.
Over the past years, TikTok has become a major part of popular culture. Many creators make a living off of the platform and use it as a way to promote their work. TikTok has made an extremely large impact on the music industry, with many artists and their music gaining popularity because of the app. As TikTok has become a way for independent creators to grow an audience and become popular, the loss of TikTok would be a massive blow to the media ecosystem of the United States. While TikTok may pose a threat to the American public due to its owner allegedly having ties to the Chinese government, is it worth banning it for safety concerns? That is a question that the United States government has been debating for years.
As of January 26, 2025, Trump expects a deal for TikTok in the next 30 days after speaking to many possible buyers. The American government may save TikTok, but there is no way of knowing how TikTok would change under the control of an American buyer.
Junior Nicholas Carpenter is a Staff Writer. His email address is ncarpent@fandm.edu.