Is the looming TikTok ban a violation of freedom of speech?

With TikTok’s impending closure, the effects on users leave them wondering how this ban will affect them, and  what comes next.

According to an article on cnn.com titled, “TikTok shuts down in the United States hours ahead of a ban” written by  Aaron Pellish and Brian Stelter, and published on Jan. 19, 2025 TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, is set to be banned in the United States on today. President Biden signed legislation on April 24, 2024 requiring ByteDance to sell the app to a U.S. owner or shut down. The shutdown will result in the app going dark, and no longer be available in the app store in the U.S.

As an avid TikTok user, with both personal and professional accounts, this ban will have a huge impact on not just myself, but countless others with similar uses for the platform. Every user will now lose a source of entertainment and news. Influencers, brands and companies will see their form of livelihood, income and marketing dishminish. 

TikTok has created a wide range of communities where users who share interests in these communities can connect to some degree. These communities serve as a safe space for many to speak freely about their opinions or feelings. Contributing to safe spaces and communities is the comment section of videos. The first thing I check when I watch a video on TikTok is the comment section. I enjoy reading the comments because I find people with a similar opinion to mine. The comments serve as a place where everyone with similar or differing views can come together without judgment. 

Along with the fear of losing safe spaces and communities, TikTok is also  a way to receive news quickly. My fear with the upcoming ban is that I will not be able to receive current news in a timely manner like TikTok has provided. Similar platforms do not deliver or explain current news the same way TikTok does. A recent example being the first place I heard the news about the Los Angeles wildfires was on TikTok. While other users and I can still read or watch the news for information like this, TikTok provided the information quickly and in a short video that was suitable to my attention span. 

Similar platforms may share the same feature of short-form content like Instagram or Facebook reels, but the atmosphere is not the same on those platforms. When I am on TikTok, I feel comfortable because I have built my for you page brick by brick, therefore I know what to expect. I have continuously engaged with the same content creators or style of videos, so my feed has been curated to fit my interests. However, when I venture over to Instagram or Facebook reels, there is a lack of structure or connection between videos. I never know what the next video will be and ads pop up very frequently.

TikTok is a way that people from all over, even outside of the United States, communicate. When I think about the possibility of this being lost, I fear that we will be isolated. As I mentioned, I worry that people who already don’t have a safe space for them to speak will lose the only one they have. My biggest fear is the lack of communication people will have across the United States and globally. While I don’t think that losing this app is a complete loss of free speech, I think it will contribute to a lack of communication and up to date knowledge about current events.