TikTok was banned on January 18th. Many people reacted differently to the app’s ban, which only lasted one night, being unbanned by President Trump on January 19th.
Screenshot of the message sent to Americans, taken on January 18th
On January 18th, a notification appeared on people’s screens all across America. The app was quickly unbanned on January 19th, having it only banned overnight. Many people took different actions after the ban, such as deleting the app, trying to find ways to keep using it or going to other apps.
Backup apps such as Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Red Note were overflowing with American TikTok users. TikTok users uploaded their old TikToks onto backup apps.
Near the time of the ban, many famous TikTok users revealed secrets about themselves. One famous TikTok user, Charli D’amelio, posted a now-deleted TikTok post stating that her “anxiety pen” was not an anxiety pen. She made another post saying, “It wasn’t an anxiety pen. I still don’t know who came up with that.”
Tiktok was removed from the app store but returned to the screens of users on February 13th. This allows those who deleted the app before to install it again.
Hasan Abdel, A freshman at Champaign Central, had switched to Red Note before the ban. He stated, “I doubt I’d use it even if TikTok was banned.” Hasan believes that Red Note is almost the same as TikTok, and there wasn’t much reason to switch apps.
Screenshot, taken by Ella Flynn, on January 19th.
