By Solé Scott
Editor in Chief
Jan. 18 at 10:37 p.m. is a night that will be remembered as the moment TikTok went offline and my crash out persona appeared.
TikTok, previously known as Musical.ly is an app where all walks of life share their dance moves, unwarranted singing, cooking recipes, life lessons, businesses, etc.
That app and I have been locked in since the spring of 2016 and I refuse to let it go.
Those 12 hours were heartbreaking as I had to switch over to boring Instagram reels, which was not entertaining as TikTok is.
Yet, the biggest disrespect was the app shutting down before its previous scheduled time of 12 a.m.
Before the app shut down, there were videos being posted about a similar app called RedNote. RedNote is a Chinese social media platform that is TikTok 2.0. However, the app is all in Mandarin.
I am not sure why people thought this would be a great suggestion when the reason why TikTok is in controversy is because it is owned and operated by Chinese makers.
Unfortunately, the government is trying to take America’s joy away with the potential ban of my favorite social media platform.
TikTok has less than 75 days to sell their U.S/ based operations to an American buyer. Until that happens, the app will continue to be unavailable from all app stores.
People with the app already downloaded can still access TikTok fully, yet once deleted from your device it will be deleted indefinitely. Also, everyone needs to turn off their automatic app updates or else the app will be deleted from device after the update. So, continue with caution.
The enemies cannot trick me into believing Trump saved us by halting the ban when he is the sole reason why this catastrophe is happening.
Also, others to blame is Joe Biden, the Supreme Court, the House and the Senate who should worry about other factors that are plaguing this country and try to find solutions to combat them.
For example, when will we tackle school shooting nationwide? Why is the government focusing more on an entertainment app than a serious issue that has been around since at least 1999?
Another thing that is bothering me is the constant mention of our data through TikTok being sold to the Chinese. I’m sorry but Facebook does that all the time without serious repercussions except for heavy fines because Mark Zuckerburg is an American.
This decision is deplorable and downright nasty and I and the rest of the U.S TikTok family will not give up without a fight.
Just imagine the loss of revenue for businesses that rely on this social media platform. Or the artists that became popular because of this platform. A lot of artists will not survive and will become obsolete in mainstream.
All I can do is pray that TikTok will miraculously reach a deal with Trump’s demand. Yet, if the company does follow through with selling to an American buyer, that buyer needs to be extremely dependable and honest and not affiliated with Trump or any other political party.
Once that line is crossed, there is no turning back and I believe that our version of the app will be censored. The censorship will be the beginning of a dictatorship that is currently underway.
My only lingering question is who might that American buyer be?
