BOSTON—On July 9th, TikTok users and influencers were faced with a sudden fear. The popular app, with over 800 million users, was glitching. Each video displayed zero views and likes, although comments and shares stayed the same. Millions of people posted their so-thought final TikTok, until the next morning when people realized it was just a global glitch.
TikTok is an app where people can create and share their interests and hobbies. Many celebrities use this app, such as Kylie Jenner, Justin Beiber, and the newest upcoming celebrity; Charli D’Amelio, with 73 million followers. There are dancers, artists, comedians, models, and so much more. It was created in 2016 by Bytedance. In 2018, TikTok and a similar app, Musical.ly, merged to create one big app, TikTok, that has taken over the world.
Before the glitch was officially announced, tik tokers in the U.S. thought it was the anxiously awaited ban. Two days prior, Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State announced that the country was looking into banning all Chinese-created apps, including TikTok. “The United States isn’t the only country looking into this ban,” said the NYPOST. India has followed through with the crack down. “We are taking this very seriously. We are certainly looking at it,” said Pompeo.
Even though there might be a harsh reaction from TikTok users about the government considering this ban, there is a good reason behind it. Since TikTok is a Chinese app, there are concerns that users’ data are being collected and shared with the Chinese Communist Party.
So far, Tiktok has not been banned in the United States, but that is only the news of the day. We do not know what the government will do with the Tiktok investigation but all we can hope is that our videos will never show no likes again.
