The popular app has become a political subject, leading to a potential ban of it in the US.

More than 700 million people worldwide scroll through the ¨For You¨ page daily on TikTok. During quarantine a rumor spread that stunned all of the TikTok community.

In early August, the media got news that the U.S. government had opened a case on banning TikTok due to allegations of data and privacy violations by the Chinese government and company.

Since then, there has not been any valid proof or information on these violations causing the TikTok community to be suspicious about whether this is a political issue or not.

 Many believe this had nothing to with the actual app data, but more of the attention it was bringing to important topics and educating the public on these topics.

¨Some people might just think it’s an app to watch funny videos on, but I have learned so much on it,¨ sophomore Annalese Rinaldi said. ¨From current world issues, how to protect myself, fashion tips, how to educate myself further on important things, etc.¨

Just hours before the ban was supposed to start, a hearing was held at which the app’s lawyers argued taking away the app would be taking away American’s freedom of speech and due process rights.

To many people’s relief, the ban was blocked several hours later by a federal judge granting the continued use of TikTok in the states.

In late August, a separate executive order caused ¨ByteDance¨ to sell its U.S. operations, leading to the deal with Oracle and Walmart. 

ByteDance is a technology company operating off many different platforms, informing and educating as well as entertaining people all over the world.

Altogether, Oracle and Walmart got a total of 20 percent stake in the new TikTok Global, which is anticipated to go live next year. Throughout this whole case, many TikTokers were left in the shadows with unanswered questions and growing frustration.

¨We are 100 percent confident in our ability to deliver a highly secure environment to TikTok and ensure data privacy to TikTok’s American users and users throughout the world,¨ said Oracle CEO Safra Catz.

As of now, ¨ByteDance¨ has 80 percent stake on TikTok global. Though there are still many questions to be answered, some users have not been worried about the app being taken down.

¨I did not really care. If the app got banned someone would have just come out with a different version,¨ sophomore Lindsey Klenner said.

In other matters, many people using the app depend on it’s diversity and worldwide reach to spread news and use their voice. Without TikTok, users will move onto other apps and make the best out of the situation, making the case and ban pointless.

TikTok is one of the most diverse apps in use and is giving people an opportunity to broaden their perspective on the reality of our world compared to what is seen on the news channels. 

¨Tik Tok is affecting our generation tremendously, in a very good way! Just like Vine, Tik Tok is bringing up this generation to be creative and be able to express themselves and find other people like themselves,¨ Rinaldi said.

Although the future of TikTok is unpredictable at the moment. One thing is for sure, The platform will only keep growing and user numbers will keep rising. 

More information will be introduced next year along with the release of TikTok global, but until then, TikTok will continue ticking for a while longer.