TikTok, a popular short-form video app, was set to be forced to either sell to an American buyer or shut down the platform by Jan. 19, 2025. The next morning however, President Trump announced that he would give the CEO of TikTok, Shou Zi Chew, 75 extra days to fulfill the request. This ban comes from national security concerns where the app may gather and use data from its American patrons. The app was created in 2016, and since then has amassed an audience of over 170 million users in the United States. Many of these users have taken to TikTok and similar platforms, such as Instagram, to express their disappointment in the proposed ban and are searching for an alternative.
In a comedic turn of events, an alternative that is now growing in popularity is a Chinese app called RedNote. The amount of American users creating accounts on RedNote have caused it to quickly rise to the number one app in the App Store. One drawback is that most of the app is in Mandarin. Some TikTok users are not phased by this, however, and have fully embraced the use of Mandarin in the content they create. Matthew Lupo is one of many that have attempted to use RedNote in preparation for the ban. “RedNote is superior to TikTok because of the unique opportunities it holds and all of the unique entertainment it has.” Lupo said.
For now, however, TikTok seems to be safe for the next 75 days. Senior Yonna Jenkins is an active creator on TikTok. “The ban would not affect me because I have contracts with modeling agencies. Also with TikTok, I don’t think that it could possibly be banned because everything is so influenced by TikTok that it can’t go away.” Jenkins said. This seems to reflect the views of many users on the app as well, especially after the app was shut down in the United States for about fourteen hours, and came back quickly the next morning.