The popular video app TikTok went dark in the U.S. for 12 hours, beginning Saturday night on Jan. 18, but then returning the next morning. After years of threatened bans, many students doubted the most recent law would be enforced. “I didn’t believe it because the government says that every year,” freshman Angelica Islas said.
When users tried to open the app on Saturday night, they received a message that asked them to “stay tuned” and to be assured that “President Trump has indicated he will work with [them] on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.” 12 hours later, when access was restored, it welcomed users back with the message “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”
The 2024 Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act required TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest or be removed from app stores on Sunday, Jan. 19.
TikTok is extremely influential to teenagers in the U.S.: about 63% of teens aged 13 to 17 say they use TikTok, with 57% who say they use it daily, and 16% who say they’re on it “constantly.”
Students at M-A share similar habits. “As soon as I wake up, I’m on TikTok; I go to sleep at four in the morning to use it,” sophomore Evelyn Vazquez said. “I use TikTok for everything, it’s like Google,” Islas said.
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the federal government could legally shut the Chinese-based app down. President Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement of the law for 75 days, but TikTok remains unavailable on app stores.
When TikTok chose to disable the app for U.S. users late on Saturday, students had emotional responses. “I didn’t want to manifest it, but I was scrolling on TikTok at the mall, and then I broke down when it stopped working,” Vazquez said. “On average, I used TikTok for two to three hours a day, so it was very devastating when it got banned,” senior Will Roberts said.
To make up for this loss, students and other Americans flocked to old and new apps, like Instagram or the Chinese-owned RedNote. “Instagram reels is horrible, I’m always beefing with people in the comment section, but on TikTok, I can express myself,” Vazquez said. RedNote gained millions of new users in anticipation of TikTok going dark. “Chinese users kept saying things like ‘Hi foreigner.’ I loved it, it was so funny,” Islas said.
While TikTok has restored access for existing users, Trump’s 75-day freeze on enforcement has not brought it back to app stores. “I made the mistake of deleting it immediately, and now I can’t redownload it. I use Instagram reels now, but it’s not the same,” Roberts said.
Some students are also considering deleting the app themselves to improve focus. Junior Acacia Yoon had TikTok since sixth grade but deleted it last month to focus on finals. “I feel so much happier. I spent days on that app doing nothing, and now that I am off, it is so much better for me,” she said.
With TikTok off app stores, users will not be able to update it, likely causing the app to degrade over time. Companies like Apple and Google are currently complying with the law, despite President Trump’s executive order.
