Laila Kirkpatrick, Staff Writer
TikTok was taken offline in the U.S. for 14 hours before being reinstated. The popular app was initially banned due to perceived national security risks stemming from its parent company, ByteDance, based in China. The app was removed from platforms on Saturday night to comply with a law banning TikTok in the U.S.
Although the law faced initial controversy over its constitutionality, the Supreme Court upheld it unanimously in a 9-0 decision. Following the ban, Google and Apple removed TikTok from their app stores, and web hosting companies were forbidden from supporting the app.
Officials from the Biden administration stated that enforcement of the law would be left to the Trump administration. While some hosting companies were confident they would not be prosecuted, the ban’s penalties could result in billions of dollars in fines for violations. The brief ban highlights the growing support Trump has garnered.
