“TikTok Down! Just tried to use the app and nothing is working??” A user posted on Reddit. Another user fired back with a witty retort,

“They better fix my algorithm.”

Around 4:15 p.m. EDT, TikTok users started reporting an outage on DownDetector that rose to 32,000 by 4:45 pm EDT. 

Among the outage reports, 78% of TikTok users reported app malfunctions, 21% of users pointed to server issues, and 1% of users reported problems with the website. Notably, these figures only represent the outage number reported by people on the DownDetector. Meanwhile, the actual number of affected users could be significantly higher.  

US Potentially Imposing a Complete Ban on TikTok

The United States, with the largest TikTok audience of 135.79 million, is already facing a potential TikTok ban owing to national security concerns. The Chinese-owned social media platform is alleged to data breach. President Trump has extended the ban date twice, hoping for the sale of the platform to a non-Chinese buyer. 

In 2024, former President Biden signed a law requiring that by January 19, 2025, ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has to dissociate from operating TikTok in the U.S. or see the app outlawed altogether.

Considering the massive number of users of TikTok, on January 20, Donald Trump signed an executive order banning hold for 75 days. In April, Trump again extended the ban date for 75 days. 

Fewer US citizens want a TikTok Ban

According to Pew Research Center, a recent survey showed that fewer US adults find the platform a threat to national security. In the survey of over 5000 US adults, 49% of the US citizens consider the platform a threat to national security, compared to 59% in March 2023. The study also shows a decline in public support for the TikTok ban, with 34% of US adults supporting the social media platform ban, which was 50% in 2023. 

The survey provided four reasons to the US citizens, highlighting the potential rationale behind their support for the ban. According to the findings of the Pew Research Center, 83% of US citizens consider TikTok a threat to data security, while 75% showed their concern over Chinese ownership. Other than these major concerns, 54% of US citizens opined that TikTok is a source of misinformation, while 46% of Americans believe that this platform should be banned because US citizens spend too much time on it.  

TikTok Alternatives 

As the potential ban of TikTok is looming, TikTok users have time to switch to alternative platforms. Those users who want to continue using TikTok can switch to the VPN option, but there are fewer chances for them to sustain their US followers. For TikTok creators, Meta and Instagram reels are a viable option, considering their popularity and usage in the US.