The depressing truth about America's TikTok ban.

America's TikTok ban lasted less than 24 hours, but oh boy did it teach us some things about power while it lasted.

Over the weekend, the social media app was flooded with 'final vlogs' from America's most popular creators, teary goodbyes from people who've built a livelihood on the platform, and confessions from some of our most controversial follows.

It was a big couple of days….and we shall forgive America for forgetting that it wasn't all of us being kicked off the app. Just them.

Watch: DJ Xandra Pohl's tiktok confession in the final hours of the app being available to US users. Post continues below.

But TikTok followed through.

By 11pm on January 18th, TikTok was no longer available in the United States of America.

The social media app went dark after America's Supreme Court decided to ban it due to national security concerns regarding its Chinese ownership.

They were worried about two things; the Chinese government stealing the data of 170 million US users, and concerns China could use TikTok to manipulate content and influence their citizens.

They demanded China sell its stake in the app, or they'd be cut off on January 19th, 2025. China refused, and so the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the law.

It lasted mere hours, and by the 19th, TikTok was available to the American public again after incoming President Donald Trump promised to issue an executive order on Monday, after his inauguration, to extend the deadline for shutdown.

"We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties," a statement from the company said.

STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK:

In agreement with our service providers, TikTok is in the process of restoring service. We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170…

— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) January 19, 2025

All of this to'ing and fro'ing is very interesting (and depressing) for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, America's pretty big on freedom of speech and expression. It's one of the main reasons they throw around their right to bear arms. One would think that being able to express onself on a social media app accessed worldwide, would also fall into that 'freedom' category…but alas.

It's particularly strange in this instance, because TikTok hasn't ever actually been tried or found guilty of sharing information with the Chinese government.

But back on the whole gun issue. Approximately 132 people die per day because of firearms in America and there were 488 mass shootings across the US in 2024 alone. And yet that amount of death and destruction doesn't warrant the Supreme Court feeling the need to step in with some kind of ban like they did with TikTok.

How utterly depressing.

Even hundreds of school shootings hasn't been enough to motivate action. Image: Getty/Brandon Bell.

Banning the social media app threatened to cause over $1 billion in lost revenue for American small businesses within one month. The app's advertising and user engagement also contributed $24.2 billion to the US GDP in 2023 alone.

That's a pretty astronomical financial hit, and yet American lawmakers went ahead with ditching it based on no evidence of the main threat they perceived. It's truly wild.

But it's also wild that one man — an incoming president — could change all of that again, by promising to step in once officially in charge.

We've just watched both America's highest court and Trump flex how much power they've truly got, over millions of people's livelihoods.

It also shows how depressingly simple it would be to reverse the damage they've caused to women's reproductive health and their right to make decisions about their own body when it comes to accessing abortions.

In mid-2022, the Supreme Court overturned the historic Roe V Wade decision, protecting the constitutional right to an abortion. As of 2025, one in three women in the US lives under an abortion ban.

Women across America revolted as the news became reality. Image: Liu Guanguan/China News Service/Getty.

That same court could change millions of lives overnight, if they wanted too.

But, while they think women should have the right to own a gun — they do not think they deserve the same freedom when it comes to making decisions about their own bodies. The math ain't math'ing.

Just think about how quickly access to medical care could change in America, if these same lawmakers were to step in? We've all watched enough TV shows out of the US to realise that even getting basic healthcare is restricted thanks to astronomical insurance prices.

But again, apparently, banning TikTok is of higher priority for the Supreme Court.

It feels like we're back in COVID times.

In 2020 and 2021 in particular, we saw how swiftly entire countries could be shutdown. Forced inside. Mandated to follow a strict set of rules. We saw how truly powerful governments and courtrooms could be. This has only reminded us about how quickly and efficiently those in charge can make changes.

It's just a shame American lawmakers are not using that power for more good.

For more, listen to our daily news podcast The Quicky unpack the TikTok ban here.

Feature image: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty.