*Updated as of 9/14/20: TikTok has managed to strike a deal and partnered with tech company Oracle in the US. It’s a big loss for Microsoft, but it satisfies Trump’s national security concerns.*

TikTok has been only growing in popularity since its initial release in September 2016, especially with the teenage population. In August, 2018, it was released worldwide when TikTok merged with Musical.ly. It has become one of the most common apps for high school students in the United States, and yet it could be entirely gone from the nation very soon. On August 3rd, President Donald Trump threatened that if the Chinese company was not purchased by an American company by September 15th, it would be banned in the  US. Microsoft and several other American companies are attempting to negotiate the purchase of TikTok, but with the time for negotiations slowly coming to a close, nothing has yet been announced.

The government is concerned about the national security concerns of TikTok. They worry that the app, being centered in China, could potentially allow the Chinese government to access personal information and data about American citizens. The government believes that this information could then be used as blackmail or espionage against the United States.

“As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States,” President Donald Trump explained to reporters on Air Force One.

TikTok has issued statements reporting that they would never give out personal data and that they have a huge US team with plenty of American employees.

TikTok shared, “We are committed to protecting our users’ privacy and safety as we continue working to bring joy to families and meaningful careers to those who create on our platform.”

Payton Garcia, a junior at Shadow Ridge High School, has reached over 600,000 followers on TikTok.

Garcia shared, “I like TikTok because it’s easy to reach a large audience. As long as you have a phone, internet connection, and something to say, people will watch you.”

Although many students are afraid that this could be the end for TikTok and others think that the government will back out of banning TikTok, Garcia looks forward with optimism.

“I’m not that worried. I think that before it gets deleted, a big company, like Google or Microsoft, will buy them out,” he explained.

For avid users of the app, it will take a little bit of patience and waiting, but they can only hope that TikTok can manage to keep itself from getting banned. Everybody will have to stay tuned to find out what happens when September 15th finally rolls around.