TikTok ban delayed: Here’s what USF students have to say

Users who entered TikTok after it was reinstated Sunday were met with a message thanking President Donald Trump for helping bring the app back. ORACLE GRAPHIC/ CAMILLE GRALL

Kira Waymire, a sophomore anthropology major, said she was “over” the TikTok ban before it even started. 

“They threatened it multiple times,” Waymire said. “I just didn’t think it was actually gonna happen.”

When trying to access TikTok on Saturday night, 170 million American users were greeted with a message saying the app was offline. The ban, however, only lasted around 12 hours.

The ban was set to start on Sunday after legislation was signed by former president Joe Biden last April that required TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, to sell the app to a U.S. company or else shut down.

Congress passed the legislation to ban the app due to concerns about the Chinese government being able to manipulate content and having access to users’ data. 

Those against the legislation cited concerns about the First Amendment, but the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ban last Friday.

President Donald Trump was credited for bringing the app back online in a pop-up message on TikTok. On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to delay the ban for 75 days.

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Joshua Scacco, a USF associate professor who specializes in political communication, said TikTok is not the only social media platform that could raise concerns about data privacy issues.

However, Scacco said TikTok is being scrutinized because its ownership by the Chinese government makes it a national security concern when it comes to access to Americans’ data.

“The reason why TikTok is implicated here is because of concerns about national security and what the Chinese government might or might not be collecting on U.S. citizens,” he said.

Nina Seidensticker, a junior biology major, said the message users got was “off-putting” because it mentioned Trump’s efforts to get the app running again.

“It was only down for a couple of hours, and the message after felt like propaganda,” she said.

Waymire said she deleted TikTok before the ban, expecting to redownload it if it returned. 

However, she said she couldn’t redownload the app because companies like Apple and Google removed it from their app stores.

There are a few “interesting” potential outcomes to the TikTok ban, Scacco said. 

Scacco said trying to institute a ban could become a game of “Whac-a-mole.” Without TikTok, people will move to the next platform to engage in similar behaviors, he said. 

Some users started using the Chinese app Xiaohongshu in light of the ban. The TikTok-like social media app is commonly known as Rednote

“Other platforms might either adapt their characteristics, or completely new social media platforms will pop up in its place, whether those are US-owned or foreign-owned,” Scacco said.

Isaiah Stephens, a junior environmental engineering major, said he doesn’t have a TikTok account. Still, he saw the way people around him acted when the app was offline and said it showed the effect the platform has on people’s “brains and relationships.”

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“They didn’t know what to do with themselves,” he said. “There’s a lot of people wasting time and doom scrolling on TikTok instead of connecting to people.”

Scacco said the ban and potential sale to an American buyer overseen by the government in an attempt to regulate data usage could bring up First Amendment concerns.

On Sunday, Trump proposed having 50% ownership of TikTok between the U.S. and the current owner or whichever buyer the government chooses. However, it was unclear whether Trump meant the government or another U.S. entity would control the app.

Scacco said Trump’s involvement in bringing the app back online complicates the situation. He said it eliminates the separation between “an independent, private company and the government.” 

Stephens said he was happy to see TikTok go — even if temporarily — because most people could benefit from not having it. 

However, he said measures to ensure national security, such as banning apps, should be done “in moderation” and not interfere with American’s “checks and balances of freedom.” 

“If it’s that much of a concern, go for it, ban it,” he said. “But what else will they ban if they get this freedom? It’s okay to ban it because of security, but it’s not okay to abuse that power.”

JOANA RIVA, STAFF WRITER

Joana Riva is the news staff writer for The Oracle. She’s a Mass Communications major with a Broadcast Program and Production concentration. She’s passionate about storytelling in all forms, from journalism to literature and film. She was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the U.S. in fall 2023. She joined The Oracle the same semester as a news correspondent, and became an intern and staff writer in fall 2024. Reach her at joanacastanheira@usf.edu.

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