It was probably just a fluke in the system, not like an entire government intervened.
Over 170 million TikTok users were suddenly silenced in the United States, as Congress passed a law that temporarily bans TikTok for 270 days unless it gives up being owned by ByteDance. This was due to the US suspecting that ByteDance might have ties to the Chinese government, similar to their accusations to Huawei, thus posing “national security risks”. With the law taking effect, any and all Bytedance-affiliated apps are banned in the US. These include TikTok, Lemon8, Capcut, and even Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, whose developer is owned by ByteDance.
However, not even 24 hours in (it’s only been twelve hours), TikTok went back live in the US, after the inaugurated president, Donald Trump, reversed the order. TikTok then notified users with a message stating “Thanks to your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the US!”
Before it went online, American users last Saturday were bewildered with a “going offline” message, stating users to stay tuned in order to determine what’s going to happen next. Clearly there was a panic as users are quickly finding alternatives, most notably, Red Note, also a Chinese app, that combines the features of TikTok and Instagram into one app.
The ban happened the night before the presidency could be passed from Biden to Trump. Biden stated that it is up for Trump to decide whether to push on with the ban but also reiterated that, for TikTok to continue operating permanently, it should be American-owned.
While TikTok is safe for now, it won’t be forever and it may face another ban if it does not comply with the 90-day reprieve that Donald Trump will give, stating that the app should still be US-owned, according to an interview from NBC.
For now, let Americans celebrate the return of the popular social media app, but it may not have so much time to live, unless ByteDance complies. As of this writing, no, Mobile Legends has not returned yet, neither has CapCut. In addition, ByteDance’s apps are still delisted on Google Play and Apple App Store.
Source: CNN Business, ABC News, CBS News, FX Leaders, Engadget
You must be logged in to post a comment.