Social media users are putting a new meaning to the question, “At what cost?”
The US TikTok “ban” that occurred over the weekend sent many people into a frenzy; some people were hopeful for the app’s return while others gave up and deleted the short video-hosting service off of their phones. However, in a turn of events, TikTok was restored for users in the states in less than 24 hours, but the latter group of people were out of luck as the app was no longer available in the App store.
Phones with the ByteDance-owned app still installed on them became a hot commodity. As of Wednesday (Jan. 22), new listings titled “phones with TikTok” on eBay began popping up by the dozens, with a majority of them boasting hefty price tags. The most expensive listing is currently at $4.9 million, and according to Newsweek, a phone priced at $14,000 sold earlier this week.
eBay screenshot
eBay screenshot
In March 2024, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 7521, which would ban TikTok completely unless it is divested from ByteDance, a Chinese company. Users prepared for the app to go dark on Jan. 19, 2025, but US users were unable to scroll anymore on the evening of Jan. 18, hours before the bill went into effect. A controversial message popped up for all users, referencing how Donald Trump was working with the app’s owners on a solution.
The message read: “A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.” It’s worth noting that at the time of the notice, Trump had not been sworn into office yet.
The next morning (Jan. 19), users were able to use the app again. The welcome back notice read: “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!” Many people have labeled the ordeal as a “stunt” by Trump to take credit for bringing the social media service back, although he initially was the one who signed an order back in 2020 that would ban it.
Leave a comment