In 2018 the popular app known as Musically went through a full rebranding. After many years of development, it became the most downloaded app in 2024. TikTok: the beloved social media app, known for it's unique algorithm and one-of-a-kind objective. Similar to it's predecessor, Vine, TikTok is made up of short-form videos, including skits, dances, cooking videos, and most importantly, advertising for businesses. Aside from the entertainment aspect that 170 Million Americans are attached to, over 7 million American businesses rely on TikTok for advertising and sales.
Similar to Facebook, TikTok has a marketplace where small and large businesses alike could sell their products to TikTok's users. TikTok is an extraordinary tool for small businesses to find buyers and clients. Alongside TikTok Shop, there are other ways that Americans make their livings on TikTok. We estimate that 2,400,000 Americans use TikTok as a source of income, and 40% of them rely on it as their full time career.
The first mention of a national ban on TikTok occurred toward the end of Trump's administration in 2020. Concerns arose over the app's Chinese ownership. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company, which led U.S. officials to concerns about the possibility of user data being accessed by the Chinese government. These ban attempts eventually came to a halt, after Biden became president. However, there was a reemergence in March, 2023, when TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew, testified before Congress, defending TikTok. After these events occurred, the U.S. government, particularly members of Congress, faced significant ridicule by the public, as well as the users of TikTok. The primary reasons for the ridicule was due to the ridiculous questions asked by U.S. lawmakers. Examples include the following:
"Does TikTok access the home Wi-Fi network?"
"Can TikTok track your pupil dilation?"
"Does TikTok connect to my home devices, like my fridge?"
"Why do you need to know where the eyes are if not for spying?"
The idea of a TikTok ban remaining strong within the U.S. government, in January of 2024, CEO Shou appeared in front of congress once again. While the previous comments are hilarious, the most commonly mocked quote is from Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton. He interrogated CEO Shou about his personal life, including where he was born, his political affiliation and his family. If you are interested in listening to the interrogation in it's entirety, the link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLQCfypDLk
After the hearing, Shou made it clear that TikTok had no interest in selling to an American company. From March until May, talk of the ban was quiet. This was until Montana officially banned TikTok in May, 2023. Other countries also took steps against TikTok: Australia and Canada banned TikTok on government devices, and The European Commission issued similar bans for its staff.
The talk of the TikTok ban finally resurfaced toward the end of 2024. TikTok's ban passed the Senate and the House of Representatives with an overwhelming 80% majority across Democrats and Republicans alike. On January 18th, 2025, TikTok put the a disclaimer onto all U.S. devices with TikTok installed. The disclaimer announced that on the 19th, TikTok would be unavailable. On the 19th, there was a pop-up when you open the app that said the app was unavailable.
On January 19th, 2025, TikTok was officially banned across the USA. It seemed as though the government was serious this time, until 12 hours later when TikTok worked again. Many Americans were confused as to why TikTok was unbanned so quickly. TikTok's explanation was that President Trump worked with them to achieve a 90 day extension to the ban.
While ecstatic that TikTok was back, many users were concerned that TikTok might be lying to them about why it's unbanned. The reason for the disbelief is because Trump was yet to be in office when TikTok was unbanned, so he was unable to change U.S. law. Some went as far as to call it "Republican Propaganda" publicly, on TikTok. Trump claims that his support of TikTok stems under free speech, and not taking away 1st amendment rights. Many American TikTok users decided that they needed an alternative, and were unclear which to choose. The most popular ones were the following: Instagram Reels, Youtube Shorts, and RedNote.
Many TikTok users immediately fled to Instagram Reels. While a solid choice, many were hesitant because of their resentment for it's owner, Mark Zuckerburg. Zuckerburg was a stark supporter of the TikTok ban, knowing that many TikTok users would flee to Instagram Reels, giving him more business. In order to not support Zuckerburg, many chose not to go to Instagram.
Instead, a popular choice was Youtube Shorts. Youtube Shorts is similar to TikTok in many ways, including the shortform content, and the scrolling style. Also, Youtube is known to pay their creators the best. However, many TikTok users refused to go to YouTube Shorts because of their view of Youtube Shorts being a worse, less funny version of TikTok.
Indisputably, the most popular choice was an app called RedNote. RedNote, also known as 小红书(Xiao-Hong-Shu), is a Chinese version of TikTok. It first was brought as a TikTok alternative as a joke, making fun of the government for banning an "Americanized" version of a Chinese company. The purpose is to mock the government, switching to a truly Chinese app. The app is mostly in Chinese, and most users speak in Mandarin.
Overall, while it seems silly, the TikTok ban negatively affected so many Americans, with over 170 Million Americans looking for alternatives, and almost a combined 10 Million Americans with less income coming in, and many losing all of their income. In the end, it's important to stay informed, because staying informed helps protect against the spread of misinformation. As far as The Sunday Print is concerned, all that matters is that you leave the world better than you found it.
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