The TikTok ban was enforced Jan. 18 in the U.S., but less than 24 hours later, the ban ended, and users were allowed to continue their activities on the app. But, the longevity of the app is still uncertain, according to CNN.
Users returned to TikTok on Jan. 19, after President Donald Trump ordered the executive branch to delay enforcing a Congress and Supreme Court-backed TikTok ban for 75 days, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
Killian Weston, also known as K-WEST, is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin with a TikTok following of 255,900.
“My initial reaction to the banning of TikTok [was] it just felt heartbreaking,” Weston said. “As questionable as it may seem to other people, Tiktok has played such a vital role in my life, specifically in the past, like my freshman year of college as well as high school.”
Weston first gained popularity in late 2021 from creating videos that facetiously captured the difference between how girls and guys go about everyday activities — particularly at UW — according to previous reporting by The Badger Herald.
TikTok, having 170 million monthly users in the U.S., has faced competition from other apps, such as Instagram reels, attempting to replicate its short-form video features, according to WISN12.
TikTok, however, stood out as a leader in quick entertainment and as a tool for creators to build business, advertise or use it to share messages with their online community, according to WISN12.
More than 7 million businesses in the U.S. rely on TikTok’s platform to promote their success, according to TikTok.
Weston, having other sources of income, is not too concerned about a financial impact on him from the ban of the platform, but is more so concerned about connecting with his audience at UW.
“I would probably just promote most of my comedy, music and media and stuff on Instagram,” Weston said. “But it’s [Instagram] definitely a dislike of mine because I feel like it like dwindles down the creativity of it all.”
For Weston, TikTok allowed him to connect with other creators on campus, such as the Wisconsin Design Team, Wando’s and the official Bucky Badger account.
Not being able to have the same platform with all of these connections lined up as they are on TikTok creates a dent in the upbringing of each creator’s success, Weston said.
“I felt so stressed and sad about it, only because it felt like I had such a close connection to UW-Madison, and so many different connections that were so important to me, and it just felt like it went away,” Weston said. “And it’s like a dream that I’ve always had, I never even thought I would get into school here, so to be here and to feel that has been so heartwarming and I just want to say thank you.”
