Every TikTok user right now is considering themselves as God’s favorite child. The short-form video making app just survived a federal ban and resurrected just like that within a couple of hours. The app is up and running once again in the US, and users are going crazy over this ‘miraculous’ incident. As promised, Trump has put a brief pause on the federal ban.
Regarding the brief pause— Trump said that he wants to give more time to China-based parent company– ByteDance so that they can find a suitable buyer for the app before the ultimate ban. Late Saturday, TikTok mentioned that it had shut down across the US because of the federal ban. As a result, Apple and Google removed the app from their respective digital stores.
The abrupt shutdown and sudden resurrection of the app are considered to be a brilliant marketing gimmick for both TikTok and Donald Trump.
The confusion around TikTok ban
On Saturday night, TikTok users saw a pop-up message on their screen saying, ‘Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.’ Soon, the app was removed from prominent app stores. Things didn’t improve for the TikTok enthusiasts even on Sunday. Meanwhile, Apple took down a couple of other apps developed by ByteDance, such as CapCut, Hypic, and Lemon8.
As per the federal ban, ByteDance was required to cut all its ties with TikTok’s US operations pertaining to national security concerns. But at the same time, the sitting President has the right to grant a 90-day extension to the ultimate ban so that ByteDance can secure better offers from investors. The China-based parent company has been looking for suitable investors since then.
Trump’s brief pause on the TikTok ban is directly contradictory to the US Supreme Court’s unanimous support for the federal ban. As per Rep. Mike Gallagher, the author of the bill, there was no ‘extension’ plan.
While some lawmakers are in favor of the extension, others, like Sen. Tom Cotton, are completely averse to the idea of the extension. He has warned companies against offering TikTok with any kind of technical support. Some attorneys like Kirk McGill believe that Trump doesn’t have the legal right to pause the federal ban on a temporary basis.
Trump’s contradictory moves on TikTok
Trump’s first term as president of the US focused on banning TikTok. But security experts, political enthusiasts, and critics are baffled by his 360-degree change. He flipped the script completely by supporting TikTok enthusiasts in the US. Back in December, his lawyers requested the SCOTUS to temporarily suspend the ban so that President Trump could find a political solution for the federal ban on TikTok.
Social controversy around TikTok ban and swift restoration
The ban and quick restoration of TikTok has become a topic of debate across social media platforms. Social media users are considering it as a smart PR strategy. TikTok’s pop-up message after restoration says- ‘Welcome back! Thank you for your patience and support.
As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US.! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok.’
However, social media believes that Trump has absolutely nothing to do with the brief outage and out-of-the-blue resurrection of the app. They believe that TikTok itself had taken the servers down and then reinstated them within the next 12 hours. They are accusing both TikTok and the government of manipulating public perception, calling it a ‘political theatre.’
Possible buyers for TikTok
ByteDance is in no mood to sell out TikTok. But on Saturday, Perplexity AI proposed that ByteDance come up with a new entity that would help merge Perplexity with TikTok’s US operations. However, Perplexity is not in buying the TikTok algorithm, which allows TikTok users to watch videos that suit their interests.
Will it be an illegitimate move to try to access TikTok in the US?
Even though the ban is still in place under US federal legislation, it is not illegal to use TikTok in the US as of now. This is so because President Trump himself used his legal rights to pause the ban and restore TikTok services for the time being. However, no internet hosting company or app stores are allowed to entertain the platform.
As per federal legislation, any internet hosting company that offers their services to TikTok will have to pay a hefty fine of $5,000 for every TikTok user who gets to access TikTok. The same is applicable to Google and Apple. So if any user tries to download TikTok from these digital stores, Google and Apple will have to pay $5000 per download.
Aftereffect of the sudden ban and quick restoration among TikTok users
While the majority of the users are elated because of TikTok restoration, others are seemingly confused about the fate of the app. Because of the ban, RedNote, a Chinese lifestyle platform, experienced a steep increase in its user base. BlueSky, the competitor of X is also trying to tap into the situation by introducing TikTok-style vertical video feature (Trending Videos). X is soon to come up with an ‘immersive new home for videos.’
Instagram, too, is locking horns with ByteDance by launching Edits, an all-in-one video editing app to compete against Capcut. Some users claimed that they got complete access to their TikTok apps within hours of its restoration announcement, while others are facing issues accessing the app even 24 hours after the restoration.
The sudden and unexpected ban on TikTok highlights the vulnerability and uncertainty surrounding the future of social media platforms. Simultaneously, it underscores the availability of alternatives for users. In response, social media platforms are striving to meet user expectations, fulfill business interests, address regulatory requirements, and enhance phishing protection measures to safeguard user data and privacy.