For about 12 hours on the night of Saturday, Jan. 18, TikTok users were met with a pop-up notification: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” The interruption followed a Supreme Court ruling the day prior, which unanimously upheld a ban on the social media giant. The ban, originally passed by Congress last April and signed by former President Joe Biden, would have forced TikTok — an app with 170 million U.S. monthly users — to be sold or cease operation in the U.S. by Jan. 19.

However, when President Donald Trump pledged to sign an executive order to temporarily save TikTok, the app returned online just hours later. The revival of the app was accompanied by a message that thanked “President Trump’s efforts” to bring TikTok back. At a rally the day before his inauguration, Trump said, “Frankly, we have no choice. We have to save it.” On Jan. 20th, shortly after his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order suspending the ban for 75 days, giving TikTok time to sell its American operations. However, since the executive order, TikTok has yet to reach a deal with any American entity, leaving its fate in the U.S. unknown. 

Ironically, Trump originally proposed the ban during his first term. In August 2020, Trump signed an executive order forcing the Chinese company ByteDance to sell TikTok within 45 days or stop operating in the U.S. However, due to legal challenges and timing, Trump was unable to put the order into effect and the fate of TikTok was passed onto the Biden administration.

Proponents of the TikTok ban cite national security concerns, worrying that data collected by TikTok could be used by the Chinese government against the U.S. In addition, some worry that TikTok could be used maliciously to spread misinformation. Opponents of the ban argue that it violates free speech rights granted by the First Amendment and that it would harm the small businesses and content creators that depend on TikTok.

When TikTok challenged the ban in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Washington, their argument that the ban violated First Amendment rights was denied. Eventually, the case went to the Supreme Court, which made the same ruling.

The ban gained momentum again in April last year, when the House of Representatives and Senate passed a bill that would ban TikTok unless it found a new owner, as part of an aid package for Israel and Ukraine. The bill found bipartisan support, with the House voting 360-58 and the Senate voting 79-18, and was immediately signed into effect by Biden before the legislation was eventually challenged by the Supreme Court.

The ban on TikTok is, in many ways, unparalleled. 

The United States government has never banned a social media platform before, let alone one with TikTok’s popularity. 

TikTok is the fifth largest social media platform in the world, with more than 1.5 billion active users. The platform has become a fundamental part of the lives of its users globally, particularly among younger generations. According to a study by Ofcom, a social media regulator platform, users between the ages of 18 to 24 spend an average of 64 minutes per day on the platform. 

However, the impact of a potential ban is not limited to just the loss of TikTok — it may be used to justify more social media app bans in the future. 

In the TikTok Inc. v. Garland Supreme Court ruling on Jan. 17, the court suggested that the decision may not serve as an overarching legal precedent. However, some experts, such as University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) lecturer Nolan Higdon, still believe it may be used to establish one. 

“[The TikTok ban] sets a precedent that the federal government, when it chooses to and with the right amount of votes, can outlaw platforms,” Higdon said. “…any time the powers don’t want the public seeing a certain type of information, there is a precedent the courts can point to and say it’s legal.” 

For some, TikTok serves as a source of information from people across the world and various political perspectives, offering a diversity that mainstream media often lacks. 

“In the United States, you see all these different media outlets and platforms and searches, but really all the information you’re getting is filtered by about 10 or 12 corporations,” Higdon said. “Something like TikTok offers a unique opportunity for Americans to get an outside international perspective on a social media platform.”

In the short term, a ban on TikTok would be especially significant to young users and content creators. The app’s brief ban in January raised concerns among some students who use the platform to help them in their day-to-day lives. 

“I felt like I lost a good study tool, and I lost an outlet where I could be inspired,” junior Keira Au said. 

In the moments following TikTok’s brief shutdown, it became clear to some students just how much impact the app has on their lives.

“[The TikTok ban] was kind of a relief, because I got a dopamine break,” sophomore Sean Bandrapalli said. “I kept [trying to open] TikTok because I’m kind of addicted to it, and I feel like a lot of others experienced the same problem.”

While the future of TikTok remains uncertain, Higdon believes that if the ban is extended or becomes permanent, the U.S. could face dire consequences.  

“If you look at history, censorship is a bad road to go down. It leads to a chilling effect, it curtails new ideas,” Higdon said. “It’s usually associated with authoritarianism and disinformation, I think it paints a very dark future if we continue to normalize this.”