In early 2022, concerns were raised about the security of Tiktok, an online entertainment-app due to potential data privacy issues and the app’s potential connection to the Chinese government. On Jan. 19, 2025, it was decided that it would finally be banned in the United States, and was shut down for a total of 14 hours before being reinstated, due to a 75 day postponement order under President Donald J. Trump.
The initial concerns led to a widespread debate about whether or not the app would pose a threat to national security and prompted some countries to implement or consider blocking the app from public use. According to The Washington Post, some countries that have the app banned completely include India, Nepal, Iran, Afghanistan, and ironically, China.
The initial ban was proposed last year and signed by former President Joe Biden, which gave the Tiktok CEO and parent company ByteDance an ultimatum to sell its U.S. portion of the company by Jan. 19, or it would be removed from the App Store and would no longer operate in the United States.

With ByteDance not having sold the app to another company, a warning popped up on the screens of anyone who opened the app on Jan. 18, stating “We regret to inform you that a U.S. law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable. We’re working to restore our service in the U.S. as soon as possible, and we appreciate your support. Please stay tuned.”
Later after midnight, users based in the United States could no longer scroll through or refresh their “for you page”, open comments and leave likes, or access any information on their account unless they chose to download their data into their files. The message switched to offer condolences, announcing, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, this means you can’t use TikTok for now. 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!”
Many people didn’t think that the ban would actually happen or affect them, and as soon as reality hit, many began to look for a replacement app to TikTok.

Some people switched to “Lemon8”, an app that is a mix between TikTok and Pinterest. On Lemon8, there is a feed page, where you can scroll through pictures and videos of things such as hauls, recipes, and other things that you would find on TikTok.
However many people worried that because Lemon8 is owned by the same company that owns TikTok, people would lose access to it as well.
Other people decided to switch to Youtube Shorts, Instagram Reels, or Facebook Video, which also have video feeds similar to TikTok.
Finally, some people have taken a funny approach to spite the U.S. government and their fear of “Chinese spies” and downloaded the Chinese-based app “xiaohongshu,” also known as Rednote, which is similar to TikTok with a video and picture feed. The Chinese users on the app have affectionately nicknamed any Americans “TikTok refugees” and have welcomed them with open arms.

Some Chinese users have even taken to asking American users for help on their English homework.

However, after President Trump was inaugurated on Sun. Jan. 19, TikTok was seemingly back up and is able to be accessed by any American citizen that didn’t delete the app prior. According to TikTok, Trump had signed an order to postpone the app’s ban for another 75 days.
“Why are all the foreign friends missing today?” one Chinese Rednote user asked.
While most people have returned back to TikTok as soon as the ban is lifted, nobody knows what will happen at the end of the 75 day deferral, and Americans might have to return back to one of these apps for a new source of entertainment.
