According to the BBC, as of June 2024, about 23% of global 18-to-24-year-olds used TikTok for watching news. This usage spiked significantly during the recent presidential elections in the United States. Since this age group comprises a large portion of Union College students, it’s no surprise that the recent federal ban on TikTok elicited mixed reactions on campus. Students expressed emotions ranging from disappointment and frustration to indifference and even optimism. “I went into panic mode. TikTok is my comfort blanket, and I was not ready to say goodbye. But then I woke up the next morning, and it was back. I was so confused because I thought I had imagined the whole thing,” said Shravani Kulkarni, ’26. “I’m still so confused—how is TikTok working again?”
To better understand the situation, it’s important to review significant events in recent years. In 2020, President Donald Trump signed an executive order proposing a TikTok ban, citing national security concerns over its parent company, ByteDance, a Chinese-owned firm. ByteDance entered negotiations to sell its U.S. operations to American companies Oracle and Microsoft and filed a preliminary injunction to prevent the ban. This request was approved, and the ban was never enforced. In 2021, the Biden administration revoked Trump’s executive order and initiated an investigation under the Secretary of Commerce. By 2022, a bill was signed aiming to curb the app’s influence. Most recently, on Jan. 19, 2025, legislation requiring ByteDance to sell its American assets was passed, once again citing national security concerns.
“I’d been preparing myself for the ban, but I didn’t think it was actually going to happen,” said Narayani Yogi, ’28. “I was shocked when I opened the app on my phone that night and saw the notification.” Millions of TikTok users in the U.S., including hundreds on campus, received the same notification. However, what surprised users even more was the notification they woke up to the next day: “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.”
Lia Nichols, ’27, expressed a more indifferent reaction. “I wasn’t really surprised it started working again so quickly. I don’t really use TikTok, so I don’t care about it, but I know a lot of people do. So I guess it’s good for them.” Many Union College students, however, were more surprised by the app’s reinstatement just 12 hours after its ban than by the ban itself. A sense of uncertainty about TikTok’s future remains pervasive across campus.
“I think the potential ban is more of a statement than an actual threat. I think TikTok will always come back,” said Nathan Goldstein, ’27. What might happen after the 75-day extension on the app’s ban remains unclear, particularly given the recent change in administrations. Will TikTok continue to operate in the U.S., or will it soon become history? Reach out to me at [email protected] or visit concordiensis.com to share your thoughts. While some speculate that a permanent ban on the app within the nation seems unlikely, other students consider it a very realistic possibility.