In anticipation of an imminent ban by the United States government, TikTok chose to go offline on January 18, just hours before the ban was set to take effect, leaving millions of Americans with a message to “stay tuned.” Access to the app was restored 14 hours later with a notification that read: “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
This news came as a surprise to many people as Trump had previously advocated for a TikTok ban, citingnational security concerns due the platform’s parent company, ByteDance, being based in China. However, Trump has since apparently changed his stance. Recently, he asked the Supreme Court to block a law signed by former President Biden in April 2023, which threatened ByteDance with a ban if they didn’t sell TikTok to a U.S. owner within 270 days. The Court upheld the law on January 17, which resulted in TikTok temporarily shutting down the following day.
When the app was restored, many of its 170 million American users — many of whom scroll for hours every day to find news, entertainment and community — celebrated its restoration. One member of the Peddie community, Neal Patel ’26, mentioned how he was “shocked the ban actually went through”; however, he had a feeling “it wouldn’t last.”
Most users of TikTok likely found some comfort in the fact that on January 20, immediately after his presidential inauguration, President Trump issued an executive order delaying the enforcement of the bipartisan law concerning TikTok’s national banning. Still, the long-term future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain, as this executive order could face legal challenges. In fact, some members of Trump’s own party have already stated that they are opposed to an extension of the ban. For now, President Trump said that he hopes to find a long-term resolution and has proposed a possible 50-50 joint venture between ByteDance and a U.S. owner. Only time will tell what comes next.
