Social media has an abundance of apps to further spread the generation of technology, such as Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly known as Twitter), and now TikTok. TikTok, like every other social platform, is a space made for creating, sharing, and discovering new things in the span of one minute. From the account @The Bikini Bottom News that spreads vital information about the world, to @Micah for his short comedic skits, TikTok has become the amalgamation of the internet which is why America became erratic on Jan.19, 2025.
Although, it was short-lived when the ban was lifted the very next day–less than 24 hours to be exact. American users were greeted with a notification on the app that said “Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.! You can continue to create, share, and discover all the things you love on TikTok.”
Quickly, users took notice of the bias the app had shown in their message–thanking Trump and calling him president before his inauguration. Some assumed that this was a ploy, an entire scheme on Donald Trump’s side in order to garner more support from the youth by “saving” the thing they loved. Whether or not it is true, or even worked, is left up to debate.
Why would this be important, after all the app’s back and people are able to return to their leisurely posting or doom scrolling. Well, users are beginning to learn that their algorithm has been impacted. TikTok has been censored, in their words, meaning videos with certain topics will have a sudden lack of viewership. This does not mean that specific subjects are suddenly missing, but instead people will not be seeing videos related to anything of the matter as much as they would pre-ban. The LA wildfires, Gaza, Protesting, and more felt suddenly missing in the eyes of the United States of America user’s.
The censorship is a problem as it means people will go uninformed of events that occur if they solely rely on TikTok. That or it will encourage TikTok to continue to censor without users realizing until their entire for you page is curated to something they did not pick for themself.
