
Compiled by: Cecile Diroll, Opinions Editor & Spandana Janapati, Asst. Opinions Editor
On Jan. 18, 2025, TikTok briefly went dark in the United States (U.S.) after the Supreme Court upheld a law banning the platform. Unless ByteDance — the Chinese parent company — sells to an American tech company, the app may face a permanent ban. With a message asking users to “stay tuned,” TikTok returned in less than 12 hours and thanked President Trump for his “efforts” to restore the app. After his inauguration, the President signed an executive order granting TikTok a 75-day extension.
While TikTok’s future is still unknown, The Highlander wanted to speak with the University of California, Riverside (UCR) students about their experience on the divisive social media platform and whether they think the national ban is justified.
Question: Do you think a TikTok ban is justified for national security reasons? Why or why not?

Adelia Urena, Art, Second year (she/her)
“There’s a lot of other companies that steal our data. We use a lot of other Chinese owned apps so either way [the TikTok suspension] would have been one drop in the bucket for national security. There are still all the other companies, even American-owned companies, that take our data. I think the ban was more to get a rise out of defeating the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] from taking our data.”

Harmanpreet Singh, Biology, Second year (he/him)
“As for TikTok being a national security threat, if officials still believe that then they should investigate it more thoroughly and they should also come up with a conclusion according to that. If they find that it is a national security concern, then obviously shut it down. If it’s not, then continue to let TikTok run.”

Pinkie Ha, Political Science & International Affairs and Economics, Fourth year (she/her)
“I think closing down TikTok for national security’s sake makes sense. These companies track consumer data through technology. Right now, it’s AI, from what I know. My information is just as limited as yours — which is just the news. So [according to] the news, America and China are fighting over the development of AI, especially right now … I think they are trying to battle the information saturation in the market and make sure data from America is not going to be leaked outside.”
Question: How would a TikTok ban affect your daily social media habits?

Jade Arayata, Cell, Molecular, and Development Biology, Second year (she/her)
“Fortunately or unfortunately, I don’t actually use TikTok so it wouldn’t really affect me. But I have seen all of my friends freaking out about the ban because they use TikTok all the time. So I guess it affects me in the way that it affects my friends. I’m more of an outsider seeing what their world looks like and it just reminds me of how much social media has changed and how much it has a hold on this generation.”

Sonia Oluoch, Political Science & International Affairs, Fourth year (she/her)
“I think a TikTok ban would make me go on social media less. Before the ban, I had taken a break from Instagram so I was mostly on TikTok. Because of that, I feel like I would spend less time on TikTok and focus more on other things, maybe hobbies, instead of social media.”

Yadhira Dorado, Political Science, First year (she/her)
“I think the TikTok ban would affect my social media habits by actually keeping me off social media a lot more. I was kind of for the ban because I knew it would make me focus more on my other priorities. Then again, I am also kind of addicted to TikTok … There’s pros and cons to it but overall it would keep me off my phone more.”
Question: Do you see TikTok as just an entertainment app or does the app have broader impacts on society?

Vaneesha Singh, Computer Science with Business Applications, Fourth year (she/her)
“I believe TikTok is mainly used for entertainment purposes. Most of the people I see around me use it when they are on a break, when they don’t have anything to do or to distract their mind from what’s going on in the real world. So I feel like it truly is for entertainment purposes and just a way to escape reality.”

Julie Sanchez, Political Science, Third year (she/her)
“I see it as both entertainment and having broader societal impacts. It just depends on how seriously you take in the information you are seeing and if you research beyond what you see on TikTok.”

Emelly Munoz, Liberal Studies, Fourth year (she/her)
“I feel like it is both just because there was some stuff I wasn’t aware of that TikTok kind of showed me. That just comes down to how you build your For You Page [FYP]. I feel like it’s a helpful way to get information about issues right now. Especially because a lot of people tend to use social media for that, so it’s a good way to advocate.”