Banning the FYP: How TikTok was Banned

“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now;” this message flooded the 170 million American TikTok users for over 12 hours on the night of Jan.18, 2025. 

The app came back online to users who did not delete the app on Jan. 19 with a message welcoming back its U.S. users and thanking President Donald Trump for his efforts in bringing it back.  

Senior Miraldy Angeles, experienced the message that many U.S. users of the app did. ”I was sad because I didn’t understand how I relied on this social media platform for my mental health,” Angeles said. 

On Jan. 19, Apple removed all apps associated with Bytedance including TikTok, CapCut, Lemon8, and Guath AI from the app store due to the passing of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act that banned TikTok unless it severs ties with the Chinese company Bytedance.

The parent company of TikTok, Bytedance, a Chinese-based company, is a threat to national security and could mislead the 170 million Americans on the app through its data collection software or algorithm according to the Department of Justice. 

PRHS government teacher Nichole Anderson says “I think the biggest issue is it’s Chinese based, and our government goes and ebbs and flows on how friendly it wants to be with China and how much influence it wants from China,” she said regarding the TikTok ban. 

RedNote or Xiaohongshu, a Chinese-based social media app, an alternative to TikTok, amassed an estimated 700k of Americans creating new accounts before the Jan. 18 date.   

Critics of the TikTok ban including content creators and small businesses believe that it violates their First Amendment rights according to the court case, TikTok inc. v. Garland. 

Students at PRHS have created communities on TikTok sophomore Jude Taylor says the app,

The 170 million American users of TikTok are losing the ability to find their community and express themselves whether it is BookTok, SourdoughTok, CleanTok. 

Seven million small businesses on TikTok rely on the app to promote their businesses to potential customers according to Oxford Economics. 

The Paso High Theater Company has used its TikTok account to promote the Fall Play (Murder Mystery, Mystery Murder), Children’s Musical (Frozen), and spring musical (Hadestown). 

In a student survey of 28 students found that 21.4% of students deleted the app on Jan. 18 while the majority didn’t delete the app. 

President Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 19  to keep TikTok operating in the U.S. for 75 days according to NPR. The fate of Tiktok has yet to be seen after the 75 days for the 170 million American and student users of the app.