The ongoing feud between the U.S. government and TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, began in 2020, when President Donald Trump proposed the first ban on TikTok in the U.S., claiming it threatened national security. Since then, the U.S. government has persistently signed multiple proposals and laws into action to ban TikTok nationwide.
In case you've been living under a rock, TikTok is a short-form video app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Despite being created in 2016, it quickly rose to popularity, eventually becoming one of the most downloaded apps in the U.S. by 2018.
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In April, Former President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S. company by Jan. 19, or the app would be shut down.
On Jan. 18, hours before the dreaded ban was supposed to go into effect, millions of TikTok users across the U.S. lost access to the app and instead were presented with a message that read, "A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S."
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However, this ban didn't last long. President Donald Trump signed an executive order allowing TikTok's service to be restored only a few hours later, effectively delaying the ban.
TikTok is back in the U.S. but the app is no longer available for download
Today, TikTok's service is still available in the U.S., allowing millions of Americans who kept the app on their phones to continue accessing their addicting 'For You' pages.
However, the TikTok platform downloader remains absent from the app stores, making users who deleted the platform from their phones during the hours-long ban regret their impulsive decision, which cannot be reversed as of now.
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Some ambitious TikTok users who still have the app installed on their phones thought of creative ways to profit from other former users' misfortune, taking this tragedy to their advantage to make a few easy bucks.
Opportunistic TikTok users list their phones for thousands of dollars, social media netizens are torn
Multiple people have been listing their iPhones on eBay with the TikTok app installed, setting ridiculously high prices that can reach $50,000 per phone.
People took to social media to express their reactions to the multiple eBay listings, with comments and posts ranging from anger to pure satire.
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A Reddit user made a post announcing, "iPhones with TikTok installed are being offered on eBay for 50,000 dollars," and netizens bombarded the comment section with their reactions and suggestions.
One user challenged the success rate of the eBay listings by commenting, "Wake me when someone is stupid enough to buy one."
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An Android user slammed American iPhone users by commenting, "Americans would rather overpay for used fruit phone than to buy new android and sideload it for free."
Another user proposed an alternative plan for those tempted to bid on the eBay listings, commenting, "Wouldn't it just be cheaper to fly to another country and buy a phone, download TikTok, and fly back, lmao? I mean, couldn't you just go to Canada or Mexico and get a prepaid device? Correct me if I'm wrong."
The TikTok ban may have been delayed, but as long as no agreement is reached, the future of TikTok's stay in the U.S. and its return to app stores remain uncertain, making some former users extremely desperate to access the app again.
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