By Sophie De Rouin / Staff Writer

The popular app TikTok is now facing a possible ban in the United States if the China-based owner decides not to sell its stakes. 

According to a report by Haleluya Hadero, TikTok will no longer be existent in the United states if the ban goes through. The Chinese-based owner called ByteDance has no longer than six months to either sell its stakes to an American company or will have to face a nationwide ban. The United States government is unsettled with the fact that the Chinese government might have access to all data of US TikTok users. Which is why they gave ByteDance the option to sell its US operation in order to secure a safer usage of the Social Media platform. 

TikTok has declared the allegations of sharing personal information with the Chinese government to be untrue. Besides that, the US government has not been able to successfully deliver any proof of shared information up to this day. Therefore, banning TikTok would involve legal challenges which would require the US Senate to approve the proposal for it to become law. And even then, TikTok is challenging the government to fight back, as stated by Haleluya Hadero. 

Missouri Valley College students have shared their thoughts on the potential TikTok ban and they all seem to agree on the fact that they wouldn’t be happy with TikTok being taken away. 

Hailey Simons, a Sophomore at MVC who uses TikTok daily, is one of them. 

“If it were to get banned I would definitely be sad because I love TikTok and the entertainment factor,” she said. “I also use TikTok to learn new recipes or to look up date ideas but it wouldnt change my life drastically if TikTok didn’t exist anymore.”

Another student who expressed her opinion on the matter is Senior Chrisha Gray.

“I think scrolling on TikTok is definitely addictive but it can also give you insight on what’s going on worldwide,” Gray said. “I get most of my news from TikTok and I would definitely miss it if it were to get banned.” 

Sarah de Leon has a broader view on the topic considering that she used to be a micro-influencer. 

“I posted daily at some point, reaching a broader audience and getting hundreds of new followers daily,” De Leon said. “Back then I would have considered TikTok to be a big part of my life and I would have definitely suffered from a TikTok ban. But now I mostly have it for entertainment and for getting news about the world, which I could also get from different Social Media platforms.”