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TIK TOK ON THE CLOCK: Student’s phone shows the pop-up message displayed after the initial ban. On Jan. 18, the app was no longer usable. Photo by Aleksi Holder

By: Tarini Popuri

A battle brews over TikTok, one of the world’s most popular social media applications. Looming concerns over national security have thrown TikTok’s future into jeopardy. While US officials and lawmakers debate the application’s efficacy, society questions the likelihood of a ban.

Last year, the Supreme Court, in a 9-0 decision, ordered Tiktok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app within 90 days or face a ban nationwide in 2025. This decision affects over 170 million individuals, including small businesses, content creators, and digital marketers. Lawmakers cite national security concerns if the Chinese government accesses users’ data.

As former West Broward High School teacher and TikTok user Ronald Lamanna stated, “Yes, people are addicted. This TikTok algorithm works very, very, well.”

A survey conducted by The Lynx Newspaper found that 50% of users utilize TikTok for over 10 hours a week, demonstrating the platform’s deep integration into individuals’ daily routines. As junior Gabrielle Salgado explains, “It’s a good getaway. I think [TikTok] is nice for everybody to come together. It’s a community.”

Since its release in 2016, Tiktok has become one of the most popular social media applications, allowing users to create, watch and react to content. U.S. Officials thus repeatedly argue that TikTok poses a security risk, warning that the Chinese government could exploit the app to manipulate public opinion. At the core of this controversy, is a potential threat to national security. The decision to end TikTok stemmed from fears of the Chinese government using this platform to spy on Americans and influence the public by amplifying or suppressing content. This was explained by Senator Josh Hawley in a CBS News Article, “Why is TikTok banned? What’s behind the law that shattered the app?” by Caitlin Tilek.

Senator Josh Hawley goes on to say, “If you have TikTok on your phone, it can track your whereabouts, it can read your text messages, it can track your keystrokes.”

Students however, bring an alternative perspective supporting the ban of this application. Agreeing that the app has its own drawbacks, some believe TikTok negatively impacts students on a daily basis as well, thus straying society away from those aspects that are truly important to prosperity.

“I stopped making videos on Tiktok, and I started spending more time on school, because once TikTok got banned I realized how much I could do without it. You’re very proactive. I was able to get my work done without looking at TikTok all the time,” stated Salgado.

Although TikTok was temporarily shut down from January 18th-January 19th, the app was brought back hours before the inauguration of President Donald Trump. One of his first actions as president was signing an executive order on January 20th to keep the app operating for 75 days to give Byte Dance time to search for a buyer. However, although President Trump may pledge to reverse the plan, he simply cannot unravel a Supreme Court decision with an executive order regardless of whether he argues in support of this exercise of the first amendment.

The survey conducted by The Lynx underscores how deeply TikTok has embedded itself into students’ lives and thus a ban could potentially cause students to lose an outlet for expression. Users reported they felt, “Disappointed, Anguished, and Tormented,” by the loss of the app. When asked about initial reactions to TikTok being offline, the school survey also reported individuals feeling like they were “ in shock” and “confused” as well as an anonymous user stating,“I was distraught because my source of entertainment and method to escape my worries was gone. I couldn’t believe it.”

In the long term, there are two likely solutions to keep TikTok online. The U.S. Government could pass a new law overturning the constitutionality of the TikTok ban, or ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, could sell to an American buyer. While negotiations are currently underway, the future of TikTok continues to remain uncertain.

As senior Srimayi Yeedara explains, “I can’t imagine life without TikTok. We’ve built so many communities, and found a sense of comfort among expression.”