By Rebecca Roberts
Elm Staff Writer
On Jan. 19, the social media app TikTok was officially banned in the U.S. The app was even removed from app stores including Google and Apple. TikTok took the step to turn off its servers, making it go dark for millions of Americans, according to NPR.
Many influencers, content creators and small businesses who have found community through the platform now face the grim reality of starting over.
According to CNN, over 7 million small businesses operate on the app, using the platform to promote their content and find an audience.
By banning the app, many people lose the ability to operate their businesses on a larger scale. They would need to create a new account from scratch on another platform if they have not already and send all their TikTok followers there as well.
The law to ban TikTok was signed by former President Joe Biden last April, with the intention for it to be sold to a U.S. company. The Biden administration left the ability to act on this law up to President Donald Trump when he took office on Jan. 20.
“The White House, however, made it clear that Biden believes the platform should operate under American Ownership,” according to NBC.
Though the ban went through on Jan. 19, TikTok came back up only 14 hours later.
According to USA Today, President Trump has issued an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension, allowing the app to remain functional in the United States.
TikTok will be allowed to continue operating in the U.S. so long as President Trump can certify that there has been progress made in finding a new American owner for the platform. He claimed he would seek a joint venture between TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance and an American owner, according to CNN.
According to NBC, “There are concerns that the video-sharing platform poses a potential national security risk because of China’s involvement with the app.”
In response to the ban threats, apps such as Instagram and YouTube are starting to allow their users to post videos of varying lengths. Instagram has extended its time limit to three minutes, and YouTube Shorts has done the same.
According to CNN, “TikTok’s restoration will be welcome news for the app’s 170 million American users, many of whom use the app for hours every day.”
While the app’s temporary return is good for the small businesses operating on TikTok, Apple and Google have not put it back in their app stores. Doing so is illegal under the law; they could potentially receive billions in fines. Anyone who now would want the app cannot get it through Apple or Google.
The law surrounding the ban is messy at best and has the potential to cause a lot of problems for the bigger companies in the near future. The continuation of TikTok solely rides on finding an American company to own it.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: TikTok displayed this error message during after going dark in the United States