On Jan.18, 2025, TikTok users across the United States, including at the University of Arizona, were disappointed when the social media app briefly went dark.

TikTok is a popular social media site owned by the company Bytedance that first went viral for dancing videos during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

The app shut down U.S. access just prior to the presidential inauguration in January, displaying an on-screen statement reading: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”  

“I was completely shocked it actually happened,” said UA senior Kaiya Willis. “We all heard of a potential ban that could possibly happen but I don’t think anyone actually thought it would be real.”

U.S officials have expressed concerns of security risks about the ByteDance app as the app could pose a national security risk from China and in April 2024, Congress passed a law giving Bytedance until Jan. 19 to sell the app to a U.S company. The law prohibits U.S.-owned companies from distributing or updating TikTok. 

But while the outage came as a shock to UA students, it was short lived. Users were able to use the app again in the next afternoon. 

Bytedance explained on the platform that the app was back, at least temporarily, thanks to the efforts of the then president-elect Donald Trump, who promised to “save” the app after taking office.

Trump initially seemed to support TikTok, issuing an executive order on his first day in office essentially stalling enforcement of the TikTok ban. However, on Feb. 3, Trump signed an executive order mandating the creation of a sovereign wealth fund that could be used to purchase TikTok.

Many students feel uncertainty about the future of their favorite social media site as it continues to be tied up in politics.

“You know, if there is a ban that comes into effect in the future, it would honestly be really frustrating,” said UA sophomore Savannah Diaz. “It’s been such a great place for not only communication but I learn so much from it whether it was finding inspo for a new dish or finding new music… you can look up so many questions and get so many valuable answers so quickly.” 

 Students say TikTok has become an escape from their day to day lives and a way to explore content they already enjoy as well as learn new things. 

Many college students not only use TikTok for entertainment but also to connect and feel like part of a community when moving to Tucson to attend the university, they said. 

UA junior Natalie Miller said she met her freshman year roommate and now best friend on the app. 

“I had posted a video saying I was going to the University of Arizona and didn’t think anything would come out of it,” she said. “But I ended up receiving so many kind messages from girls that were coming here too and ended up finding my roommate just from that video alone.” 

“Ive been using this app since high school and it has been such a big part of my daily routine, finding new inspiration for clothes and even jobs,” added UA Senior Camille Sealy. “When I heard it was going to be banned, I didn’t think it was going to actually happen.;”

If the app does get banned, she admitted, it could help her be more productive and less distracted by her phone..

In the meantime, bans enacted on campus at the UA and other U.S. universities remain in place. 

Arizona’s public universities limited access to the app on university-managed devices in April 2023. The ban followed an executive order from then-President Joe Biden that required federal agencies and contractors to remove the app on government-issued devices.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs subsequently signed her own executive order in 2023 mandating state agencies to remove the social media app from all state owned and leased devices, including personal devices used for state work. 

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.