Whether navigating hallways, browsing stores, or attending class, people are often glued to their phones, endlessly scrolling through social media. One of the most influential platforms to take the world by storm is TikTok, a ‘vine’-like app that allows people to post audible videos to a group of followers.

Over the years, TikTok has accumulated millions of users, many of whom use the platform constantly. Avery Foster (’25) stated, “I love TikTok, I use it so much,” a claim in agreement with countless users. Despite its exponential growth in the App Store, TikTok has faced significant controversy, particularly concerning its ownership and relationship with the U.S. government.

In April of 2024, Joe Biden signed legislation stating TikTok’s owners, ByteDance, would need to sell the app to a US owner or the national servers would be shut down. After months of dissension and lawsuits between the US and ByteDance, the Supreme Court unanimously voted to uphold the federal law to ban TikTok, leading to a shutdown on January 19, 2025.

Users were unable to access the app, with a notification about the ban appearing whenever TikTok was opened. Many flocked to other social media outlets to voice their outrage, upset at the removal of the app. Luckily for them, less than 24 hours after servers were shut down, people slowly regained access to the app and their beloved scrolling features. An executive order was signed delaying the ban for 75 more days, granting temporary relief to US users and allowing them to return to their cherished scrolling.