GAGANDEEP KAUR
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
JAIME DIEDRICH
STAFF WRITER
2/3/2025
On January 18th the U.S. halted the use of the TikTok app including the user’s ability to download and view the app in its totality. It was gone for less than 24 hours with the opening message being a political note on how Trump aided in the app coming back. In my opinion, they should have left the app banned in the U.S.
What was the point? This was a political move, the notes on the screen when the app was shut down and right after it came back weren’t subtle. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” said the public message. If President Trump wanted to be consistent, he would have left it banned.
During Trump’s presidency, he discussed banning the app due to privacy concerns about how much of our data was being shared with the app’s point of origin. Now that the shoe is on the other foot, he has entirely changed his tune.
Why would he fight for an app that he knows carries significant privacy concerns? It’s worth noting that when the app was unbanned, Trump was not in office yet. It was obvious that people significantly used the app, it was held over their heads and when it matters most, reinstated despite any point Trump has ever made about TikTok prior.
Now why the app should stay banned isn’t entirely political, though it would be nice to remain consistent on that issue, there have been several privacy concerns linked to the app throughout the times that it’s been running. It’s privacy concerns revolve around that of children who use the app, making it more serious of a concern than noted prior.
Speaking of pointless, my personal use of the app, which is seldom, has involved me opening the app to the most out-of-pocket tomfoolery known to man. We’ve all heard of the term brain rot; TikTok after TikTok of the most mind-numbing, nonsense posts being filtered into the feed of our youths. We don’t need another app drastically affecting the upcoming generation like Instagram had in the past and still does.
The reaction from when the app was banned gives an insight into how addicted to the app some people really are. We needed it to go, we need people to realize that they were better off without the app but it was a short-lived panic, and everyone has hopped back on to catch up.
Of course, there are positive sides to having TikTok, for a lot of people it brings comfort, however, its sheer existence as an unpredictable political tool that may or may not, allegedly, be taking data from children outweighs any positive aspects the app may bring to the table.
This wouldn’t be an end-of-the-world decision, there are plenty of alternatives to TikTok that aren’t used in politics, like YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels. They’re both just as unhinged, with YouTube Shorts being tamer than the infamous reels, and YouTube can age restrict certain reels if it deems them inappropriate for wide public access.
On the side of my personal opinion, for the sake of concern, I opened my TikTok once this week and the first clip was a right-leaning misogynistic comedian. That’s what they’re showing to people new to the app; it’s biased and unfair. People quit X for how political that has become, is it so difficult to do the same thing to TikTok?
Keeping TikTok unbanned is political, sends the wrong message of what we’re willing to accept when it comes to our privacy and is arguably not adding anything substantial to its users- in fact, one could argue the opposite.
The Almanian: News 
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