The recent TikTok saga has been quite the wild ride. Everyone who has spent any time on the internet or watching the news will have seen the drama unfolding. The US was set to completely ban TikTok. Until President Trump intervened. One of his earliest acts in office was to sign an executive order delaying the banning of TikTok.
This came shortly after the app had already been pulled from app stores in the US. TikTok also disabled service for anyone accessing the app from the US. Service was restored fairly quickly once Trump had signed the executive order. But it wasn’t until today that TikTok returned to the app store.
The TikTok Ban
So why is the US even trying to ban TikTok? Well it isn’t as cut and dry as you might think. The US government doesn’t actually want to ban TikTok. They want the parent company, ByteDance, to sell the US version of the app to a neutral party. ByteDance is a Chinese owned company. And the US government feared that, through them, they could gain access to the data of US citizens and use TikTok as a propaganda platform.
A law was passed by the Biden administration that is forcing ByteDance to sell the app or it will be permanently banned in the US. Of course this didn’t go down well with China or the vast majority of the general public. TikTok is one of the most popular apps in the US. A large number of influencers use TikTok as their primary source of income. And many independent businesses use it as a marketing platform. The damage banning TikTok could cause is staggering to say the least.
I am an avid TikTok user myself. I utilise the platform to learn about global affairs, share my articles and travel videos, and to connect with likeminded content creators. And it is just my luck that the ban was announced just after I decided to buy TikTok likes to increase my account’s exposure. And this was a valid concern for a lot of users. Many people have sunk a considerable amount of time and money into their TikTok careers. This ban threatened to cost people thousands of dollars.
Trump’s Executive Order
As we said, the app didn’t stay down for long. Trump quickly signed an executive order extending the deadline by 75 days. Giving China more time to acquiesce to the demands of the US. But this is still looking rather unlikely.
But why didn’t TikTok return to app stores immediately? Well it isn’t actually down to ByteDance to deal with distribution of the app. Apple and Google, owners of the two most prominent app stores in the US, are directly responsible. They didn’t immediately restore the app as there were no guarantees that they wouldn’t be held liable for people downloading it.
Trump recently gave both companies assurance that they are completely free to reinstate the app to their app stores. And, naturally, both companies were keen to get the app back online ASAP. But what does this mean for the ban?
Trump’s extension of the sale deadline might indicate that he is still committed to banning the app if the sale doesn’t go ahead. Some have said that the extension is just a sign of good faith towards China. Made in the interests of fostering a better relationship with them. During his first term in office, Trump was very vocal about his desire to ban TikTok. Making the same claims that the Biden administration used to pass the banning into law.
But his attitudes have swiftly changed. TikTok played a huge role in his election campaign in 2024. Trump has never been one to shy away from using social media to express himself. His famous banning from Twitter shook the world back in 2021. And now Elon Musk, the new owner of X, formerly Twitter, is heading up the new Department Of Government Efficiency.
So we have already seen that Trump is willing to work closely with social media moguls. Granted Elon Musk has a lot more going for him than just owning X. But it isn’t unlikely to think that Trump would much rather keep ByteDance, and China, happy to ensure that TikTok remains active. Even if it is just so that Trump can utilize the platform to his own ends.
Trump used the TikTok ban to sway a lot of voters to his side. Making bold claims that he would do everything in his power to overturn the banning. Now this could very well simply have been a lie used to get more votes. But it isn’t impossible for the ban to be completely overturned down the line.
Who knows what the future holds for TikTok. But as of right now we can all revel in the fact that it is back on the app stores.
