President Donald Trump issued an executive order when he assumed the presidency to keep TikTok accessible after Congress had passed a law banning it on January 19. 

The decision to ban the platform, which 170 million Americans use daily, came from concerns that the Chinese government could be using it to collect data on U.S. citizens or engage in surveillance. 

However, the app returned just 12 hours later with a message welcoming American users back and questioning the intent behind the ban.

While some defend the ban as a necessary step for national security, others, like Pilar Gomez, a sophomore at Cosumnes Oaks High School, see it as performative. 

“Yeah, I think they’ll never actually end up banning it,” Gomez said. “They always threaten it, but once people show how much they truly like an app and how much they use it, they back off.”

She was relieved when the app returned, but the experience made her realize how deeply connected students are to platforms like TikTok for information and social interaction.

For Messica Tan, also a sophomore at Cosumnes Oaks, the ban was more than just an inconvenience.

 “I think it’s kind of strange that they’re trying to ban something that’s not entirely a huge problem,” Tan said. 

Spending an average of six hours daily on TikTok, Tan relies on the app for news. “If it’s something that a lot of people are talking about, I trust it,” she said. “It’s real people giving their views, not just a company.” The ban, she explained, felt like a denial of information.

Gomez shared similar frustrations.

“I hated (the ban),” she said. “I kept checking the app, hoping it would work,” she said, adding that it left her emotionally unsettled. “I thought my life had ended.” 

Gomez also questioned the justification behind the ban.

 “I definitely think it’s about national security, because they think that China’s just trying to take over everything, even though literally everything in our country is made from China, or a different country, not in the U.S.,” she said. “So I don’t know why they’re so concerned about that. 

“Also, they control and watch what we’re doing on our phones—our own government. So I don’t know why they’re so concerned about other governments doing that.”

While some defend the ban as a national security measure, others, like Gomez, question it’s a necessity.

Ava Mitchell, an English Honors teacher at Cosumnes Oaks, acknowledged TikTok’s educational value. 

“It’s a shame it was removed,” she said, noting how students use the app for concise learning content. However, Mitchell believes the ban was more about authority than security concerns.

The temporary ban also sparked discussions about the broader implications for social media. Would this set a precedent for the government banning other apps in the future? Would it limit freedom of speech? 

Gomez, who feels strongly about the matter, believes it infringed upon her rights. 

“It’s my freedom to let everything of my knowledge out and to take in whatever somebody else may be talking about,” she said.