TikTok, the popular social media app that has captured the attention of millions of Americans, might be forever banned in the U.S. on January 19, 2025. Due to many privacy concerns that the U.S. government has about the app, officials have resorted to banning it completely in the U.S. unless the company sells the app.

The U.S. government sees TikTok as a threat to security because of the amount of power the Chinese government has over Chinese companies. TikTok is a Chinese company because ByteDance, a Chinese company, owns it.

China’s 2017 national intelligence law states: “Article 7 obligates Chinese individuals, organizations, and institutions to support national intelligence work.” This law means that the Chinese government is legally allowed to take any piece of information from any Chinese company, in this case, ByteDance, claiming that it is for national intelligence work.

However, there is much conflict on the banning of TikTok from many points of view. President Biden has voiced his concerns with his team about the possible threats of TikTok. He passed a law that gave TikTok one year to decide if they would sell the platform or allow its ban in the U.S.

In 2020, former President Trump wanted TikTok banned for good, just like President Biden. However, recently, he said he could find a solution to the whole situation and that TikTok doesn’t really need to be banned.

TikTok is doing its best to stay in the U.S. In its defense, it emphasizes the number of Americans who use TikTok and the 5 million small businesses that rely on TikTok to promote their businesses. TikTok says that by banning TikTok, the government would “trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate seven million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the US economy, annually.”

TikTok’s future is uncertain, but whether it stays or gets banned, it will impact the lives of many American citizens.