With a new year comes the implementation of new laws. One piece of legislation generating headlines in recent weeks was the shutdown of TikTok.
TikTok’s fate was up in the air as recently as Sunday, sending many of its fans into a spiral.
For years, TikTok’s critics have raised national security concerns over the platform’s affiliation with Bytedance, a Chinese company. On Jan. 15, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a federal law that required TikTok to shut down in the United States unless ByteDance sold off the app by Sunday. While TikTok did go dark briefly, its loyal users were given a 75-day retrieve when Pres. Donald J. Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban as one of his first acts in office.
At Burroughs, the relief was audible. Many of TikTok’s users are young adults and teenagers, who are extremely vocal against the ban.
“I feel like the ban is ridiculous because we’ve already had TikTok for so long,” Elise Patin, a freshman, said. “It just feels pointless to take now.”
TikTok — known for its short-form video content — has rooted itself firmly in the technological landscape. Starting up in 2016, TikTok was originally a place that infamously had teenagers dancing to popular songs or pulling pranks, but it has now evolved into a place to share ideas, find people with common interests, and create original content. The Pew Research Center states that 63 percent of teens aged 13-17 use TikTok, with 57 percent using it daily and 16 percent reporting they use it “almost constantly.”
With over 100,000 influencers using TikTok as their primary source of income, students voiced concerns about where the creators on TikTok would go if the platform disappeared.
“The ban, I feel, isn’t good for people who make their income off of TikTok,” senior Apiew Thich said.
Presumably, TikTok will find a resolution that allows the platform to remain a part of Americans’ electronic lives. The brief threat of losing access had students considering their options and the possibilities of life without TikTok.
“Personally, I feel like [the ban] could benefit me by giving me more time for hobbies,” said Thich.
Others were more concerned with what it meant for censorship in media. Following the Supreme Court’s reaffirmation of the ban’s consitutionality, some consider the ban as an overstep by the government.
“I do have concerns that the U.S. government may be overextending its power by trying to ban TikTok, however, since for a lot of people, it’s a source of news,” sophomore Logan Blanton said.
Many users started fleeing to Instagram and YouTube. Some even turned to Red Note, a Chinese “substitute” for TikTok, but reported being freaked out by some of the interactions they experienced.
Some students reported trying to instinctively open the app out of habit, or suffering separation anxiety.
“I didn’t miss it too badly, but I think it’s a pretty good app,” junior Layla Goebel said.
For better or worse, access is restored for now. The TikTok ban has now been pushed back by 75 days to give TikTok an opportunity to find a non-Chinese buyer and to give its influencers a chance to recreate communities on other platforms.
