Chrissy Teigen has proposed the government implement a 12-hour social media shutdown after 6 p.m. to prevent it from consuming peoples’ lives.
The 39-year-old model shared her idea in a series of Instagram Stories posted on Saturday (January 18), the same day TikTok briefly went dark in the U.S.
“Let’s talk TikTok. Everyone is bummed. ‘OMG, it’s going to be shut down,’” Teigen said. “It’s on a hiatus for now. It’s going to come back.”
The mega-popular short-form video app was made unavailable for U.S. users on Saturday 90 minutes before a federal ban was set to go into effect. However, it was restored the next day after President-elect Donald Trump vowed to save it.
“I personally think that one day there will be the most incredible rule,” Teigen continued. “I think the government, or some kind of ethics committee — somebody — should shut off social media between 6 p.m and 6 a.m. Leave it all up. Everyone gets to do anything they want, but only between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Shut it off. Done.
“I come from the days where we had nothing and then we saw something,” she added, lamenting life before social media.
“Guys, life was great. Life was awesome before this. I know it’s hard to see it now. But it’s doable. It’s very doable,” she said. “This doesn’t have to be our lives. And I say this for myself as well because — obviously — I’m on here [social media] right now doing this. But it doesn’t have to define us or be our whole lives.”
For a few hours over the weekend, TikTok was made unavailable in the U.S., sending its millions of American-based users into a tailspin.
“Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now. A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now,” a message read. “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
Last April, Congress passed a bill giving ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, nine months to find a U.S.-approved buyer or be banned from the U.S. marketplace.
On Sunday morning, Trump vowed to issue an executive order on Monday, the day of his inauguration, to give ByteDance more time to find a buyer. Early Sunday afternoon, TikTok announced it was “in the process of restoring service” to the app — and thanked Trump for his support.
“We thank President Trump for providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive,” the company said in a statement. “It’s a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States.”
