President Trump has declared the app TikTok a “national emergency” as he creates an executive order to effectively ban the use of the app in the United States due to national security concerns involving the Chinese government collecting users’ data, according to an article from Vox.  As TikTok continues to grow in popularity, especially among youth, this ban will strip its users of a primary entertainment source.

In 2017, the app TikTok — formerly known as Musical.ly — was bought by a Chinese tech company called ByteDance for $1 billion, according to The Today Show. Since the app’s official relaunch in 2018, TikTok has gained major popularity among today’s teens through its short comedy skits and dances. More recently, it has been a major information source on issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement, climate change, COVID-19, the Yemen crisis and other political movements, with many of its creators using their platforms to inform their audiences on what petitions to sign, where to donate, and upcoming protests and rallies. According to the order released by President Trump on August 6, TikTok has reached over 175 million downloads in the United States. 

President Trump issued an order which would ban TikTok in 45 business days from August 6th — making any interaction between U.S TikTok users and ByteDance illegal. 

There are two possible outcomes that could erupt from this order: The first is that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will force Bytedance to sell TikTok to an American-owned company, such as Microsoft, whereas the second outcome is that CFIUS will put TikTok on an “entity list”–forcing companies like Apple and Google to remove the app from their App and Google Play stores. Essentially, if TikTok is not sold to an American company, it will not operate within the United States. 

Microsoft has since come forward, however, and said that they are bidding for a portion of TikTok. A big issue is that Microsoft isn’t just bidding for a portion of TikTok, they are bidding for a portion of TikTok in four regions — the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, according to The Verge. A social network has never been split up along four regional lines, or under the threat of a national ban. 

Even if the bid were successful, Microsoft would own a small regional social networking system, bringing major investment and revenue issues, according to The Verge. Microsoft and ByteDance have six weeks from August 2nd to figure out how to fix this bid.

Research from Marketing North shows that 41% of the app’s users are between the ages of 16 and 24.  As an app that is targeted generally towards Gen Z, some Manheim Townships students feel strongly about the ban of the app.

Incoming sophomore Keira O’Neal says that “[TikTok] became a big part of our culture.” O’Neal went on to explain that TikTok has gone on to become “more than just a social media app since it gives a sense of community.” 

The TikTok “For You” page uses a complicated algorithm to project videos to users specifically based on what they’ve viewed, liked, shared and whom they’ve followed on the app. This algorithm connects users to people with common interests and personalities, thus creating small communities within the app.

 O’Neal said that the app can feel like “therapy because you’re able to see other people who are like you, or who have been through similar [situations] as you.”

An upcoming junior who prefers to remain anonymous said that, on average, they use TikTok for about 2.5 hours per day. They said President Trump’s interest in banning the commonly-used app is both good and bad because “it removes a large platform that [they] get most of [their] entertainment from.” However, by banning TikTok, a large distraction would be removed from their life, giving them more free time. 

This person mentioned that TikTok has greatly impacted many of its Gen Z users. “There have been many creators who live off of sponsorships and Youtube plugs through TikTok,” they said. 

TikTok has become a paying job for many of the app’s most popular users. Many of the more popular users are concerned that banning the app will cut them off from an important source of revenue.  

Jonathan Carr, a rising junior, also mentioned that “it would make many people feel upset to have an app where they enjoy making and watching content on to be banned.” 

TikTok has become a part of many of its users’ daily lives, considering that the app is an easy way for its users to find relatable and entertaining content. Especially now with the upcoming election, the question has arised of how this ban will affect President Trump’s campaign. Carr said that “most of us [Gen Z] already have a strong opinion towards him.”

According to NBC, President Trump’s ban on the app may push more young voters to vote against him in the upcoming election.