In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning TikTok, the hugely popular video app locked out U.S. users abruptly Saturday night, more than a day earlier than planned.
Just 14 hours later, President Trump got it back up by providing the necessary assurances to the company’s service providers. President Trump plans to issue an executive order today, allowing 90 more days for the Chinese-owned site to close a deal with a U.S. buyer.
The ban left Latin students in disbelief, confused, nostalgic, and hypothesizing about TikTok’s future.
TikTok is now accessible but not supported by major companies like Apple and Google, so downloading the app, updates, in-app purchases, and bug fixes remain off the table.
Supporting the app before divestiture could cause hefty fines for these service providers, but President Trump has a strategy he explained in a speech yesterday at the Capital One Arena.
“I’ll approve but let the United States of America own 50% of TikTok,” the President said. “The United States will do what we call a joint venture.”
The proposed deal would be a welcome reprieve for TikTok fans. “For millions of people, TikTok offers the space to pay their bills, and to share their passion,” Senior Prefect Asher Schenk said. “It’s always upsetting to see people have to reset and uproot their lifestyles.”
A majority of U.S. teens use TikTok, so it’s not surprising that the ban affected Latin students and had them buzzing with anticipation and searching for where the TikTok afterparty was headed.
Moments after the ban, freshman Vivian Sidrys debriefed with 20 friends.
“It was my Google,” she said. “When I’m sick, I go to TikTok to ask what I have. My friend just told me tragically a celebrity’s house burned, and I had to go to Google to search it up.”
While a fine solution for finding information about everything from diagnosis to world events, Google—and other platforms, for that matter—just don’t satisfy the entertainment itch that TikTok does.
“All my friends are upset, confused, and frustrated, and we just moved to Insta Reels to watch content,” Vivian said.
While different platforms are vying to be the new TikTok, the original content that users made on the app is irreplaceable. The early lockout squashed freshman Francesca Mora’s plans to prepare for the ban.
“I am shocked,” she said. “I did not get to save my videos off TikTok in time.”
Hypothesizing the fate of TikTok goes on both in and outside of class. Seniors Lia Ruiz, Kira Mahoney, Kate Malaisrie, and Zoe Cartwright were chatting about the ban Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the surprise lockout.
“I’ll miss TikTok’s algorithm and how it’s very tailored to you,” Lia said.
The algorithm pushes content with potential over engagement level, allowing many users to go viral.
Ironically, after the U.S. Supreme Court banned TikTok because of its Chinese ownership, another Chinese-owned app, RedNote, has been gaining popularity.
“I’ve had RedNote for a long time; I went on it to check it out,” Zoe said. “I stayed because the app is aesthetic, and the ‘get ready with me at 5 a.m.’ healthy lifestyle videos are motivating.”
Senior Marlo Leik uses TikTok to showcase her talent as a singer.
“It was good to show my music, but [Instagram] could accomplish the same thing,” she said.
Instagram Reels’ large audience, household name status, and American ownership make it a likely replacement for creators and advertisers. Gearing up for an influx of TikTok users, Meta, the parent company of Instagram, changed Reels’ formatting to look more like TikTok by altering its square layout to a rectangular format.
Kate and Kira are habitual Instagram Reels users, but they are also interested in exploring YouTube and hope for the revival of past viral platforms. “We should bring back Musical.ly or Vine,” Lia said.
Even if users find a proper replacement for the beloved app, the ruling banning TikTok remains controversial.
“I don’t agree with TikTok being banned,” senior Evan Stark said. “I understand why it was done, but I feel that it is an overreaction on the part of the government and isn’t necessary.”
