TikTok set to be banned on Sunday

Supreme Court upheld decision on Jan 17; Trump posts he may save the app

Robin Smith, Staff

Jan 17, 2025

Graphic illustration depicting TikTok’s potential termination. Created by Nyla Kërr using Canva.

Popular social media app Tiktok is set to be denied access to in the United States on Sun., Jan. 19. As of this morning, the Supreme Court has upheld their original decision to ban the popular Chinese-based app, citing “national security concerns.”

The original decision was determined on April 24, 2024, with President Joe Biden signing the bill “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.”

The TikTok ban means that no service providers or internet services can allow access to the app, as well as the App store and the Google play store cannot allow people to download the app on their mobile devices, facing steep fines as a potential consequence.

“An entity that violates subsection (b) shall be subject to pay a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed the amount that results from multiplying $500 by the number of users within the land or maritime borders of the United States affected by such violation.” U.S.C Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

TikTok owner ByteDance has the option to sell Tiktok to avoid the ban, however ByteDance refuses to sell as that would mean reworking the site. Currently the algorithm that Tiktok uses for their site is owned by Byte dance, which is used by Tiktok’s Chinese counterpart Douyin, which is also owned and run by Byte Dance.

This ban does not mean that the app will be deleted off of users’ phones. The app will still be on mobile devices. However the App store and Google Play Store cannot update the app, meaning that updates will no longer take place.

President-Elect Donald Trump has said he is considering saving the app in a post Friday morning on Truth Social.

The app Rednote, where people from TikTok – referring to themselves “TikTok Refugees” – are now turning to, was the most downloaded app on Apple’s US store last week. According to CBS News, Rednote, owned by the Chinese government, could also be banned in the future.

Rednote was the most downloaded app on Apple’s US store last week. (Lily Johnson)

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About the Contributors

Robin Smith, Staff

Robin Smith is a junior at McIntosh High school and she is currently serving her second year on staff. Smith has acquired Star rank in Scouts and was on the staff that acquired the trail SNO Distinguished site. She is a varsity lacrosse goalie who tends to draw in her spare time. She tends to look into a lot of internet dramas, including many gaming communities.

Lily Johnson, Social Media

Lily Johnson is a sophomore at McIntosh High School and is currently serving her second year on the Trail. Johnson was in Beta Club during middle school at J.C. Booth. She played for the McIntosh women’s lacrosse team. Johnson played for both Varsity and Junior Varsity. She was awarded the Offensive Player of the Year award for Junior Varsity. During Johnson’s free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors. She loves going on long golf cart rides, watching the sunset and playing lacrosse. She enjoys listening to music and spending time with her friends and family. “I think spending time with family is very important so I try to spend as much time with them as I can.”