TikTok is down. Banned in the USA with a message about Trump saving it

[Renew Deal]

This is the message people are getting:

Link to tweet

You can test it yourself: https://www.tiktok.com/us-landing

[JoseBalow]

1. Yup, that's the message I got

Down, for now.

[applegrove]

2. Total politics.

[Cheeto Jesus]

3. Dictator on day 1.

I hate Trump for this. I just downloaded Red note.

[Renew Deal]

4. You have to agree to live by the Chinese rules

[womanofthehills]

7. Kids are posting on X that they are pissed at Congress

They are on the Chinese app Xiaohongshu aka RedNote learning mandarin so they can connect with Chinese kids.

Basically- they say price wise the Chinese kids have it way better than them. Chinese kids pay $274 for an apartment compared to US kids paying $1500 for a comparable apt. Groceries way cheaper than ours with huge fruit & veg markets.

US kids and Chinese kids having a love fest - good for the future.

Some teachers are reporting their whole class is on RedNote - some say almost all kids in their high schools.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

37. You are speaking from ignorance here

Tik tok was a great site I have met people from all over the world on that app. And I am 59. Hardly a dumb kid.
I think the rich will be the end of us. 70 or so million people’s livelihoods are gone.and the so called elites and thier loyal republican narcissistic lapdogs won’t stop doing damage to democracy for profit until we learn to love the boot on our necks and accept our “station in life” just like in the feudal times. The conservative has always hated the commoners and this is class war if you can’t see it I dunno what to say. Elon and zuck the fuck with the other parasite billionaires are the gravest threat to this nation, they are a problem.

[LuvLoogie]

46. I second the notion that you don't know

what you are talking about.

You sound like an over 60 Congressman duped into the ban. No clue.

[LuvLoogie]

53. Yeah. people communicating and sharing knowledge

can be damaging to certain edifices and faćades

[Think. Again.]

69. I like only-upper-body dancing!!!

[Igel]

99. And the endless vids on how to properly install/fix/maintain eyelashes.

I mean, I can watch one of my students fail by ignoring classwork all week and all she does is watch one eyelash video after another, with no repeats.

Truly, knowledge crucial to maintaining a democracy and participating in the modern American workforce to maintain and strong and free country.

And don't get me started about eyebrows.

[LeftInTX]

119. She's watching the wrong eyelash video..LOL!

I finally figured it out on my own. After watching countless YouTube videos.

I've got round eyes and the strip lashes are too straight.

I roll them like a rolly polly and heat them with a blow dryer. They conform to the shape of my eye. No more corner lifting!

[I_UndergroundPanther]

71. Go ahead

But I’m not counting on the likes of you to bite the hand that feeds when the shit hits the fan.

[Igel]

98. We had just under 170 million wage earners last fall.

I find it hard to believe that 70/170 or 41% of the labor force had their "livelihood" through TikTok.

I also find it hard to believe that pre-TikTok the US lacked "democracy" or TikTok did much for democracy.

Or that Biden was a "republican narcissistic lapdog" when he signed the bill.

[LeftInTX]

120. I would be considered one of the 170. I downloaded the app and had a log in.

I couldn't get into. The app also sent notifications every few seconds. I turned off notifications and the app stopped working. I only had a login so that I could see TikTok posts. I never posted.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

66. You made a large grammatical error while railing against stupidity. Ironic.

American kids are so fucking stupid anymore.

[OneGrassRoot]

78. You seem nice. n/t

[Celerity]

94. Broadbrush bollocks. Take that posture as a fundamental stance of our Party and we will never win another election.

[Renew Deal]

31. This is risky for China

It's exposing them to mostly friendly Americans. It's also a sign that neither side wants the hostility that both sides are contributing to (though I would argue mostly China because of Taiwan and widespread hacking).

[delisen]

60. Chinese income $865. US income $4635

So you are saying these Tik Toking American youth think that Chinese youth have it better than them because rents and food are lower in China but American youth are too dumb or uneducated to include relative income in their comparisons.?

Well hopefully we can get them to emigrate to China and we can bring in some better educated replacement workers for the our US needs.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

72. Acting like

A curmudgeon is not warranted I get it you think all young people are stupid. But you doing this broad brush ignorance looks more stupid than most of the kids do. Mind closed like a steel trap.

[delisen]

86. That is quite an unwarranted accusation you are making about me

Curmudgeon? All young people are stupid? Mind closed like steel trap.?
All because I pointed out a logical inconsistency in a statement about what someone else claims young people are supposedly thinking?

It appears I have struck an emotional nerve that has brought about a major ad hominem attack but I will stick to logic and not respond in kind. May peace be with you !

[ZRB]

65. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Good to know, comrade!

[David__77]

92. That is a good sign for the future.

It’s not just kids either.

[EllieBC]

109. Chinese kids have it better? LGBTQ activists

would disagree. People protesting the government would disagree.

But as long as you can get your influencer content telling you which dance to do or which eye shadow to use, that’s good enough, eh?

Marx would love the new opium being served up.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

40. Swallowed the national security

Hook line and sinker ‘eh.

Watch there will be so many hyped up “threats to national security”bandied about you might lose your trust in the establishment.

What do you call a merger between corporation and state?

[uponit7771]

111. Yep, people swallowed the vaccine line hook line and sinker top / sarc

[The Madcap]

88. Or American spyware

Our home-grown apps are full of it as well. Only here, they call it "marketing."

[I_UndergroundPanther]

35. I dunno how long

Red notes gonna last. Fucking bullshit.

[Think. Again.]

70. it'll last until the next trendy app comes along.

[uponit7771]

110. Is translates to Red Book meaning Maos red book not Red Note

[newdeal2]

5. Can't believe we are here

I really hope this doesn’t work in a Trump’s favor.

[Renew Deal]

6. It probably will

He can't wait to take credit for saving TikTok

[newdeal2]

8. Well unless they agree to sell

I’d love to hear his reasoning for ignoring the law. TikTok CEO seems to be groveling at Trump’s feet.

[Renew Deal]

11. The president enforces the laws

And he can choose to ignore it. No one will prosecute.

[newdeal2]

14. Sure but it was a bipartisan bill including lots of R's

Tom Cotton was an ardent supporter of the ban. I don’t think they’ll will be completely quiet.

[Renew Deal]

26. It will be interesting to see

Last edited Sun Jan 19, 2025, 10:19 AM - Edit history (1)

Trump will do whatever he thinks benefits him. The rest of them like Cotton are servile dogs and will go along with it.

[Jit423]

9. But I though it was Trump's base that wanted Tik Tok banned...being too woke etc.

L thought the book-burning mob hated it?

what did I miss?

[LeftInTX]

10. Trump campaign hijacked it.

[Renew Deal]

12. There's a lot of RW messaging on TikTok

And he knows this.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

44. The algorithm

Cuts out right wing bullshit if you don’t go to thier posts. That’s why they hate it you can talk to each other without rightwing trolls and you can share content and control who you listen to. Corporations like Mets want to force abuse and rightwing propaganda that’s the difference.


I didn’t have a single maga on my feed.

[LeftInTX]

52. Trump credits Tik Tok with winning his campaign. He reached out to young men

Trump, who has committed to "save TikTok," is considering an executive order that would suspend the ban from going into effect for 60 to 90 days, the Washington Post and CNN reported.

The Biden administration has cited national security concerns with TikTok, which many in Washington fear the Chinese government could exploit to gain access to private user data or spread misinformation.

Trump was able to use TikTok effectively during the 2024 presidential campaign in his appeal to young voters. The video app has about 170 million American users.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/17/tiktok-ban-biden-wont-enforce-decision-trump/77773281007/


70 million views of one of his Tik Tok videos
This was from 7 months ago

&ab_channel=FOX32Chicago

Excuse the right wing source. This is from October
Trump’s savvy memes and flashy edits trounce Harris in war for precious views from young voters
https://nypost.com/2024/10/29/us-news/trump-is-beating-harris-in-the-tiktok-war-heres-why/

[I_UndergroundPanther]

54. Trump is a narcissistic con man

Of course he will exploit the tik tok ban.

Instead of going after tik tok they should have took down a real threat to democracy the federalist society

[LeftInTX]

56. He already did. It's in the past.

It's because the law literally states "hostile foreign actors".

It does not state the "federalist society".

[BannonsLiver]

67. Yes, that's true. It's overrun with MAGA.

[Autumn]

89. Odd. I've encountered more RW messaging here than on TikTok.

Here the mods take them out quick but I just don't see it on TikTok. I think it depends on what you look at.

[Aviation Pro]

13. VPNs work

….

[Renew Deal]

27. Have you tried it?

Or is there any evidence of this?

[Aviation Pro]

82. Yes

Tried last night, it worked.

[vanessa_ca]

108. It took me about 3 seconds to load my VPN and get in.

A very tech unsavvy congress vs today's generation. It's a comical contest.

Editing to add that I did that on PC in the US using an emulator and that I registered my TikTok account from Europe with a European number. Apparently, for VPN to work for users who registered in the US, they need to access a foreign server and not the Texas server.

I noted on X that foreign kids are helping out their US counterparts by setting up or selling them accounts registered outside the US.

[LeftInTX]

34. On a phone?

[drray23]

45. Of course it works on a phone

I have NordVPN on my android phone. I travel a lot and want to keep my data safe.

[mwooldri]

49. i tried. no dice at present.

just VPN ing to UK. phone thinks its in UK just fine. but because my phone had the US stuff on it, it still thinks its part in the US.

im thinking a fresh install, using a UK Google account and VPN in from that might do the trick, but ill need a spare device to do this.

[LeftInTX]

63. Is it worth all that???

[Celerity]

91. using a VPN is one of the simplest things you can do on the internet, extremely little effort needed

[LeftInTX]

115. My SIL uses one and she isn't very computer savvy. She works from home: payroll.

I think it's a job requirement.

[Celerity]

116. yes, if a person can figure out how to post on DU they can easily figure out how to use a VPN

[LeftInTX]

117. What happens to your cookies and login credentials? (For sites such as DU)

Obviously the first time, it would be the same as if you reformatted your hard drive or bought a new device.

But what about the next time?
Are your cookies erased and logins erased after each session?
Is that info stored in the browser? Same with browser extensions, settings etc? Is it possible to save browser settings and cookies etc?

[mwooldri]

114. In retrospect, not really.

I suppose it ranks with " Will it run Doom?" when looking at various computer devices. Doom is a 1990s first person shooter game... People have made it run on all kinds of things.... Smart fridges, ATMs, Cameras, even a freaking pregnancy test.

In other words.... Interesting to some, rather pointless at the end of the day. But amusing.

[Eugene]

77. VPN works on the TikTok web site, not the mobile app. Mobile may be too much effort for the average user.

The device cannot have a US-based SIM card or phone number.
The app store account must be foreign or the user must sideload.
Then sign up for a non-US TikTok account.

After all that, can American content creators get monetized
without KYC/AML problems?

[Initech]

15. Goodbye 1st amendment. It was nice knowing you!

[SYFROYH]

16. Isn't it wonderful how we set up the win for Trump.

[SunImp]

18. And many many more republicans voted in favor to ban it too

https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/202486

[SYFROYH]

22. Yep, I consider it a virtually nonpartisan vote, but...

…Trump gets to be the hero and his minions in congress will follow suit.

[yaesu]

17. This was planned to make tRump the hero, its already going viral, just like they want. nt

[I_UndergroundPanther]

47. And sadly

Biden got played right into the shitstains tiny hands

[DSandra]

97. Dems need to stop being ok with Republicans eating their lunch and vigorously learn how to fight with bullies!

Sometimes you have to be humble enough to see and admit your failures, until then you can figure out how to be much better!

[Takket]

19. this says it all........

This is a propaganda masterpiece. Tens of millions of people who know nothing about politics will see this & when TiKTok is back Trump will take full credit (& a huge kickback) & no one will care the ban was his idea in the first place. An idea an idiot cadre of elderly Dems went along with.

[mwooldri]

50. Jeff Jackson (now NC AG) isnt exactly old.

he voted for the ban even though he used TT a lot. he did say he thought it wouldn't get banned.

ouch.

[Igel]

101. Yes.

Some are really good at deepening and even creating new fractures in American society.

[EarlG]

20. Pretty easy for Trump to take credit for anything

when he comes down on both sides of everything.

August 2020: Trump Signs Executive Order That Will Effectively Ban Use Of TikTok In the U.S.

Now: Trump considers executive order to ‘save TikTok’ from a ban

[riversedge]

32. Well said Earl. Horrible for all of us that it will ring true.

[struggle4progress]

21. Trump has made tick-tock noises from both sides of his giant ass:

... During his first term as president, he tried to ban the app. In an executive order issued in August 2020, Trump claimed the app was capturing mass amounts of information about Americans and leaving it vulnerable to the Chinese government.

“These risks are real,” the order said. “This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information − potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage.”

The order was later blocked by a federal judge and dropped by the Biden administration.

... in ... 2024, Trump ... flipped ... position ...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/01/15/donald-trump-tiktok-ban/77724323007/

[Blue Full Moon]

25. He is the cause of the ban.

He already has someone picked out to give it to. He isn't the hero.

[Renew Deal]

29. I think he may have flipped because Biden supported the ban

I'm actually fairly confident that is the case.

[tulipsandroses]

51. Nah he flipped because of the usual - money - I remember when Tik Tok executives had a meeting with him

Shortly after the meeting, he was against the ban. He's for sale to anyone that will pay to play.

[unblock]

28. The Biden administration said they wouldn't enforce it

So basically, TikTok isn't down, the owners just decided to use that space for a trump ad.

[Lovie777]

30. Not going to help shithole....

[I_UndergroundPanther]

33. Banning tik tok

Killed over 70million people’s livelihoods 70 million people who made a living selling stuff on TikTok are jobless.

How dare we connect to each other and see for ourselves what other countries are like by talking to the people that live there!

It was the dumbest thing Biden ever signed , pretty much the only dumb thing and they tried to backpedal it but the scent of money was too tempting I guess.

I am pissed off and resent that my speech and connections are cut of because meta and instagram are having a sad they aren’t popular anymore.

[drray23]

41. Completely agree. Some of us knew all along

And saw it coming a mile away. We were told that we did not know any better, let the grown ups deal with it.


Here is one of my posts back in March.


https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=18775316

[Arazi]

58. I like TikTok but their actions tonight have me backed off

The fact that TikTok’s final message is “save us dear leader Trump” perfectly illustrates how toxic, corrosive, and dangerous it is to US politics.

Its been cooking brains with divisive algorithms (which I fully recognize and acknowledge, same as Twitter where I was also a heavy participant), and tonight’s message just sours me on the whole platform.

Not going back even if it’s resurrected on Monday

[Sailingfish]

64. Yep

Not exactly surprising though, and you're spot on that those behind it could give a shit who it affects when it comes to "the peasants" scratching out a little side gig for some dough. The bastards destroyed that for millions when they essentially destroyed online poker in the US back in 2006 by sneaking in a ban attached to the Safe Port Act in the dark of night.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAFE_Port_Act#:~:text=%C2%A7%C2%A7%205361%E2%80%935367)%20%22,were%20%22hastily%20tacked%20onto%20the

Whether people agree with TikTok, or online poker, or anything else is irrelevant. What's relevant is that freedoms of the people are being violated by shit like this. It's all pretty screwed up. I know this is a bad analogy but, "first they came for TikTok and Online Poker and I didn't give a shit or speak out because I wasn't on TikTok and didn't play Online Poker because I hated it" seems to be a pretty prevalent attitude. "An injury to one is an injury to all" when it comes to censorship, free speech, bans, and loss of freedoms. When people want to pick and choose what should get banned and censored, based on subjective values and morals, that is pretty bad precedent and blatant hypocrisy. Even worse when it's done in the name of "safety and security" which is most often bullshit of the worst kind.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

73. Great post

[Turbineguy]

36. When you wake up

Trump will be your savior. Remember: Trump is your savior. Trump is your savior.

[Bluethroughu]

38. The twenty year olds are pissed...my son came in to show me

Tom Cotton grilling a guy from Singapore about being part of the Communist party??

I said that is a Republican idiot, that doesn't know basic geography.

[Blue_Tires]

62. They couldn't be bothered to save democracy on Nov. 5

But losing some overrated redundant social media platform? Oh so NOW it's "ALL HANDS ON DECK!" 🙄

[Bluethroughu]

85. My son voted as did all his friends.

[moondust]

39. National security?

Really important.

[Lucky Luciano]

43. It will be saved. Jeff Yass is a big shareholder.

He was a never trumper before, but he kissed the ring on this go round. Hardcore libertarian republican type that didn’t like trump, but can clearly tolerate him for $.

[RussBLib]

55. ok, I'll say it

"Hey, all you TikTokers, how about getting a REAL job? Instead of just tossing out reams of crap?"

https://russblib.blogspot.com

[Renew Deal]

57. This message brought to you by

“Hey kids, get off the grass!”

[I_UndergroundPanther]

74. Haha

[Celerity]

93. "Hey kids, get off the grass!" is one of the foundational stances for far too many on DU

[ProfessorGAC]

112. Because Insulting Those With Whom You Disagree...

...is such a well-respected strategy.

[Blue_Tires]

61. Co-signed

[J_William_Ryan]

59. "Im sure you can scroll mindless reels extolling the virtue of pimple popping..."

Actually not.

The platform could be tailored to accommodate each user’s likes and interests; there’s ample content for art, history, the law, governance, movies, and books.

It could be far from mindless.

[SoFlaBro]

68. Orange Bastard didn't save a fuck thing. MAGA shit the bed over this stupid assed shit. Piss on those fucking MAGA turds

[I_UndergroundPanther]

76. Yup

Sad day indeed

[Shrek]

84. What could you say yesterday that you can't say today? n/t

[Renew Deal]

87. It's not what you can say. It's where.

It’s like the no protest zones around major events, but worse. It makes us appear like hypocrites that are willing to do the same kind of things to control speech as Russia and China.

[themaguffin]

107. LOL. thanks for the laugh.

[Mike Nelson]

79. I know what will happen...

... "Trump will fix it," and millions will cheer! Those low food prices and rents in China will get people thinking how lovely it would be to have a strong dictator in charge. How can we be more like China? Maybe the people in the area... Japan, South Korea...even Taiwan... maybe they should get with the program!

[C_U_L8R]

80. The Trumpsniffing is pretty gross

He broke it so now he can fix it? Let's hope Tiktokkers see through his dishonesty and demands for fealty.

[Thrill]

81. Embarrassing how bad this party is at playing politics

Just handing Trump and Republicans a huge win with young people. He gets to come in and save the app. When Biden could have easily done it. Just mind boggling. It’s hard to be encouraged with the Party right now. Just baffling

[GoCubsGo]

83. Considering Trump never keeps 95% of his promises,

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be waiting a really long time for that demented, old pus-bag to come to the rescue of the CCP's data-harvesting software.

[David__77]

90. The ban was signed by Biden and Trump campaigned against the ban as a candidate.

I do not think it is surprising that people may think Biden deserves more blame or credit - depending on your view - for the ban.

[iemanja]

95. Biden said he wouldn't enforce the ban

Tiktok shut down voluntarily.

[David__77]

100. Not sure what it means to say the federal government won't enforce a ban signed into law.

Biden could have signed a statement to the effect that TikTok complied with the requirements of the law so should not be banned under the terms of the law. He didn’t do that. Obviously the companies like Apple and Google would have faced steep liability for allowing continued access via its App Store.

[iemanja]

102. He said he'd leave it up to Trump

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-adviser-says-president-elect-is-exploring-options-to-preserve-tiktok/ar-AA1xh1rG?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Tiktok is playing politics.

[David__77]

103. That's not how laws work.

And generally people will assume the executive who signed a bill into law is responsible.

[iemanja]

104. He publicly announced it

"Assuming" means nothing in the face of a public announcement.

[David__77]

105. He also signed the ban into law. It is reasonable to give him credit for the ban.

[ProfessorGAC]

113. There Was A Veto Proof Majority

Biden not signing it would have accomplished nothing.
The House voted 360-58; the Senate 79-18.
Around 80% in both chambers.

[David__77]

121. I don't think people should take away credit for that reason. He's the president who spoke for it and signed it.

[ProfessorGAC]

122. And We Disagree

Trump signed an executive order banning it long before. The legislation was a strengthening if an existing action.
It was going to happen whether Biden signed it or not.
Lastly, the argument against the ban still seems too rooted in an intrinsic value of the platform that I don't believe exists.
There are alternatives now, and likely more in the future. One specific platform has no inherent value greater than another.
This whole thing seems much ado about nothing.

[LeftInTX]

118. "Enforcing" meant he would not get the DOJ to sue those who did not comply.

36 hours isn't enough time to enforce something that violates a civil law. It's not criminal, but it's civil with extremely high fines.

If TikTok, Google, Apple etc didn't comply, then the DOJ could take them to court and levy fines of $5,000 per user. Considering that today is Sunday and his shift ends at noon on a federal holiday, it isn't worth the effort. Enforcing it, isn't considered an "emergency"

In some respects, not enforcing it is part of a peaceful transition process. Trump's DOJ doesn't need to deal with court cases that Biden started in his last 36 hours as president.

However, those fines can accrue for five years even if Biden or Trump or whoever the DOJ is, isn't enforcing it. The fines began accruing at midnight even though it wasn't enforced. That's why they all went offline.

[Emile]

96. Trump signs executive order banning TikTok

on August 6, 2020

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/900019185/trump-signs-executive-order-that-will-effectively-ban-use-of-tiktok-in-the-u-s

[themaguffin]

106. Womp womp.