TikTok on the clock

Karra Smith, Staff Writer |
TikTok has been one of the most popular apps over the past few years, with it ranking first for popularity in 2020, 2021, and 2022 according to Forbes annual Top 10 Most Downloaded Apps— however, the future of TikTok is currently unknown as American lawmakers and officials continue debates on whether the app poses a security risk.
Here’s a (sort of) quick recap:
In July 2020, during Donald Trump’s first term as U.S. president, he proposed the idea of banning TikTok. At the time, Trump suggested that it would be a potential means of retaliation against the Chinese government for their alleged misconduct during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Later that year, Trump began pushing for TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell their U.S. assets to an American Company. ByteDance quickly snapped back with a lawsuit.
In January 2021, Joe Biden was sworn in as president and postponed all legal proceedings in regard to the banning of TikTok.
During March, April, and May of 2024, the U.S. Congress and the Senate started pushing the bill forward once again to ban TikTok. This situation gained traction across all social media platforms and started the first wave of TikTokers in the states calling politicians in their districts in hopes of stopping the potential ban. In May, Biden signed the bill enforcing the ban and once again ByteDance sued the U.S. government.
In early December, the U.S. federal appeals court denied any wrongdoing by the American government in regard to ByteDance’s lawsuit and gave the green light for the banning of TikTok.
Later that month, Trump began advocating for the ban to be postponed so his administration could come up with a resolution. This was ignored by literally everyone.
Fast forward to now
On Jan. 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court officially ruled in favour of the TikTok ban. The general reasoning behind this ban concluded that the company’s ties to China pose a threat to national security. The ban was set to take place on Jan. 19, prior to Trump’s presidential inauguration.
The glory of the TikTok ban was short-lived for U.S. officials. Only 12 hours after the ban took effect, Trump signed an executive order that would once again postpone the ban. This move by Trump has sparked new debates as to whether the signing of this order is even legal.
What is TikTok’s Future in the U.S.?
At the time of writing this article, the future of TikTok is still unknown. With the ban against TikTok initially going into effect on Jan. 19, the order signed by Trump may not be legally binding. In an interview with CBC, Sarah Kreps, the director of Cornell University’s Tech Policy Institute, stated “executive orders cannot override existing laws.”
What does this mean for Canadians?
Although the ban doesn’t directly affect Canadians’ ability to use the app, it does affect how often Canadians will get to see some of their favourite creators. With the potential loss of the app, many U.S. TikTokers have decided to move their content to alternative platforms making it less convenient and more confusing to find our most beloved social stars.
As for the future of the app in Canada, we cannot be certain of anything. While there is no current public discussion of a potential ban, it is not out of the ordinary for the Canadian government to follow the actions of the U.S. administration.
Karra Smith is a Staff Writer for The Reflector 2024-2025.