In a matter of moments, the platform for over 170 million Americans went silent. Instead of being greeted by various short-form content and scrolling, users were presented with an unexpected message, a sign of the end.  

According to Oyez, on Jan. 17, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act did not breach the First Amendment for TikTok Inc. Thus, the TikTok ban that would begin on Jan. 19 continued as planned. 

The following day, Jan. 18, users began receiving a notification from TikTok that read, 

“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.” The message also included that the company would work with President Trump to restore the platform.

“We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”   

This left users unsure of what the future of TikTok would hold in the coming weeks and months. 

“It was sad just because of having the app for almost seven years now and all of the memories people were posting at the last minute,” MaKenna Meyer ‘25 said. “Overall, though, I think it was just like an ‘oh crap they actually banned it.’”

But for some, this moment was an opportunity to break away from mainstream apps. 

“I honestly feel like I was one of the only people that was super relieved the app was finally going away,” Nicholas TeSelle ‘25 said. “It’s a super easy way to break our addiction to our phones and start getting back to living life.” 

But then on Jan. 19, news broke that the app was coming back, 14 hours into the U.S. ban. Users received another notification welcoming them back to the app. 

“Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok.” 

On Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced that he would issue an executive order on Monday to delay the law’s effect.

As of Jan. 20, President Donald Trump has signed the executive order putting in place a 75 day delay on the TikTok ban in the United States. 

“I’d say TikTok is safe for the next few months,” TeSelle said. “Without interjecting my own political opinions here, Trump seems to have done this ‘savior’ action and ‘saved’ ByteDance. However, the allegations that stand before the company are hefty with passionate representation from both sides.”

More updates are to come. Feel free to reach us through email at [email protected] or @RCRockMedia on all platforms.