The past week, especially the last 24 hours, has been some of the most turbulent times for the chronically online. The federal TikTok ban officially took effect on Jan. 19, and while many tried to cope with the loss, some reactions definitely went too far.
As the days leading up to the ban drew closer, many TikTok users migrated to other social media sites like RedNnote, while others shared their final videos on the app, saying goodbye to the platform. But for one Wisconsin teen, the phrase “burn it all to the ground” took a different turn.
Hell literally breaks loose in Wisconsin
While the rest of the internet was trying to archive all their favorite TikToks and sharing goodbye memes, one teenager in Wisconsin decided to take his anger to the source. The young man, whose name has not been released, decided to set fire to the office of Rep. Glenn Grothman, a Republican congressman who voted on the bill to ban TikTok last year if the company refused to sell its U.S. operations.
According to the Fond du Lac Fire Rescue, the fire was reported early Sunday morning, and police officers were the first to arrive at the scene. The officers were able to contain the fire with extinguishers before the fire rescue arrived and took care of it. The fire was relatively small and started outside the building before spreading to the interior.
There were also no injuries or casualties reported, but the perpetrator confirmed to the police that he was motivated by the TikTok ban, so there’s no doubt about it. Everyone has different coping mechanisms, but this was the wildest display, especially considering that TikTok made a grand return only 14 hours later.
What’s happening with TikTok?
The TikTok ban had been looming over our heads for months since a bill was passed last year in April mandating that the U.S. operations of the platform be sold from its Chinese-based owners. The bill gave a deadline of Jan. 19, 2025, and interested parties spent the entire week leading up to Sunday doing what they could to save the app.
To everyone’s surprise, the ban didn’t only hold, but TikTok themselves shut down operations in the U.S. a few hours before it would be enforced. People watched the app stop working mid-use and users nationwide were greeted with an error message that read, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” It looked like that was the end of TikTok as we knew it, but it was only the beginning of a very eventful few hours.
14 hours later, the latest update emerged: TikTok is back! Trump made the claim at a “victory rally” he held as part of his inauguration celebrations. However, not everyone’s buying the President’s true intentions. Some people are suspicious of how much TikTok seems to be kissing up to Trump, especially since the man himself also tried to ban TikTok in the U.S. during his first term. Nonetheless, the ban has a 90-day extension, and Trump will reportedly use the time to finalize a way to keep it operating in the U.S. for good.
Published: Jan 20, 2025 08:45 am