TikTok, a common app used all around the world, has recently reached 2 billion users (as of early 2025). Parents, students, teachers, creators are using TikTok to find new recipes, learn cool math tricks, display artwork, make money, or just scroll for entertainment. Over the past couple of years TikTok’s popularity has increased drastically. But is it here to stay? Over the past few months recent decisions have been made about whether or not the Supreme Court will ban tiktok in the U.S due to a national security threat and violation of the first amendment. Tiktok was first created when a Chinese company called ByteDance bought Music.ly in 2017 and rebranded it to become Tiktok. According to the New York Post, the company made over 23 billion dollars as of late 2023. Since then, millions of new users have joined Tiktok and its mass popularity is what keeps attracting more and more people.

But, recent concerns among Tiktok privacy and security have been brought into the attention of the U.S government, and decisions are being made about whether or not the app will be banned from U.S app stores. The U.S. government’s worries about Tik Tok as they believe ByteDance could potentially share American users’ data with the Chinese government. There are also concerns that the app could be used for spying or influencing public opinion. Most officials are certain that Tiktok poses a national security threat and they either want to ban the app or force it to be bought by a U.S. company to insure protection among users of the app.

In just a week there will be a hearing about whether or not the deadline for Tiktok to be handed over to a U.S company will come into play depending on legal actions of the Supreme court. ByteDance is faced with many lawsuits related to privacy, censorship, and its data collection practices, and it will be hard for the Chinese company to make it out of this lawsuit easily. The supreme court is working tirelessly to make sure the app becomes a safe space for American users, or that it is not used in the U.S anymore to ensure safety among all citizens.

3 weeks later, Tiktok was banned on January 18th but only lasted under 24 hours and was restored as a result of President Trump’s executive order. The app went dark and informed all users it was now banned in the U.S., but just 16 hours later President Trump put in an order with the supreme court to extend the ban for 75 days. A ban in three months is still very likely, it depends on the results of the ongoing lawsuits against ByteDance and possible new legislation from the U.S. government under President Trump’s orders. There is still a chance that the Chinese company will keep ownership of Tiktok with the promise of stricter regulations put in place to ensure privacy and protection for all users. If TikTok really does get banned, it will most likely just be deleted from app stores and will not have access to any software updates. But for those who already own the app, it is highly unlikely that it will be deleted directly from iphones. After bringing Titkok back temporarily, it is evident that President Trump is against a national TikTok ban and he is working with the supreme court to find a solution. But if ByteDance refuses to sell by April 4th, the supreme court will stick with their original decision to ban the app from all app stores in the U.S.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding whether or not the TikTok ban was, and still may be a positive decision. When interviewing with Greeley students about how they felt during the 24 hours the app was banned, they had some interesting insights. When speaking with two sophomore girls about the ban, they expressed feelings of emptiness and boredom as a result. “I thought it was the end of the world but at least my screen time was lower”. “It felt like I was losing the past five years of my life.” These responses are just two examples of many which support the idea that Tik Tok is a staple in many teenagers’ lives and it provides a sense of comfort and entertainment. Although many are too attached to the app, and if just one day without it had people feeling empty, who knows what a permanent ban could do!