‘Welcome back, I guess?’: TikTokers of the world have a LOT of thoughts about the U.S.’s blink-and-you-miss-it TikTok ban

Last year, what came to be known as the U.S. TikTok ban passed Congress with bipartisan support and was signed into law by President Biden. For the following months, American TikTok enthusiasts and free speech advocates, especially Gen Zers, were outspoken in their condemnation of the law that would come into effect in January 2025.

As the ban drew closer and closer, netizens openly mourned the app that brought a lot of people joy – as well as a lot of unproductivity, but that could be said about social media in general – and even helped some sustain a living, with millions of businesses having originated on and reached consumers through TikTok.

Right before TikTok was set to be banned on Jan. 19, multiple users flocked to the platform to air their farewells and express whatever weighed on their hearts. The ban indeed came carrying with it the impression of finality that, after all, was no more than a short-lived 14-hour impression. Metaphorically speaking, users went to the railway terminal to say their heartfelt indefinitely long-term goodbyes to a loved one, only for the train to break down right outside the station when no one was even done waving yet. As it turns out, this formerly-departing person is stuck with us for at least another 90 days. Awkward.

All those users who acted as if this was the permanent end – who could blame them? – returned to the app barely half a day later to discover their distress might have been for naught. Understandably, they and many others, including non-American users, have a piece of their minds to impart on what might’ve been the most anticlimactic twist to a process that has felt like a rollercoaster.

‘You’re grounded. Just kidding, you’re ungrounded.‘

Many of us, although relieved the app is back for now, nevertheless have questions and criticism about one or multiple of the steps taken that led to the point of the ban’s enactment.

As debate influencer Dean Withers succinctly lays out in his video celebrating and reacting to the news, the Biden administration did not provide enough assurance to service providers that they wouldn’t be punished by keeping TikTok online, whereas Donald Trump’s confirmation that he’d sign an executive order means the ban is stayed for another 90 days. To “save TikTok” while also “[keeping] it in good hands,” the President-elect declared he wishes for “the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.”

As Dean and others online have argued, the Biden administration kicking this can down to Trump presented the 47^th President with a massive victory on a silver platter. This might be so as not to give the appearance of hypocrisy – something Biden was accused of after pardoning his son – as it was during his administration that this ban was passed, and he signed it without complaints once it reached his desk.

That is not to say that Trump is acquitted of being a hypocrite. During his first presidency, the billionaire Republican intended to ban TikTok but, in the 2024 election cycle, he was won over by the app’s potential for engaging with the youngest voter demographics.

Indeed, since winning, Trump has expressed gratitude to the platform for having earned him a significant portion of the youth vote. Veronica, a TikToker from Toronto, also considered Trump’s bloated ego when she argued that, with the Jan. 19 ban being followed by his inauguration the next day, the new old POTUS must not have liked the potential negative repercussions on his viewership numbers.

“Welcome back, I guess?” Although ultimately happy “that the app is back,” TikToker Soogia, encapsulates many others’ viewpoints in the way she cannot help but wonder about the implications of this bizarre politically driven odyssey full of twists and turns: “At what cost? What does this all mean?”

Both at home and abroad, reactions to the ban’s stay of execution ranged from relieved and ecstatic to downright dumbfounded at how this borderline absurd situation has panned out. Hopefully, though, Americans who rely on TikTok to ensure their livelihoods can rest easier now.