Mark Zuckerberg Got TikTok Banned: What Happened to TikTok

Photo from BuzzFeedNews.com

You won’t read this in mainstream media. Subcribe. Thanks.

If you’re wondering what happened to TikTok, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent millions of dollars to get TikTok banned, some news sources are implying. Recently, Zuckerberg, with an orange Afro and a simple black t-shirt with a small gold chain and medallion draped over it, made news when announcing his pullback on fact-checking on Facebook. The announcement came shortly after he met with incoming-president Donald Trump and subsequently bent the knee. Now, with TikTok gone dark amid a ban passed by Congress, more people are looking at Zuckerberg and questioning the massive influence one oligarch can have compared to that of over 170 million people, the number of American TikTok users.

What Happened

In April of 2024 (and beginning in 2016), Mark Zuckerberg went on a lobbying spending spree, burning millions of dollars in an effort to get TikTok banned. In a disclosure released by Meta, the company notes it lobbied Congress and the White House on “homeland security” and had “Discussions regarding encryption… and platform integrity.” Meta disclosed the company had also had conversations with Congress and the White House about “Issues related to… misinformation policies.” TikTok is not mentioned by name in Meta’s disclosure, but shortly after Zuckerberg and Meta’s efforts, Congress cranked up the heat on TikTok. Also, many of the talking points used by Zuckerberg are included in the language of the law that passed to ban TikTok.

In real time, over 170 million Americans are witnessing their country use mob-style tactics to enforce the not-so-grand ideas of Mark Zuckerberg, who wants to monopolize the internet.

Some will say that Donald Trump originally suggested banning TikTok in 2020, but the article “Before Zuckerberg Tried to Kill TikTok, He Wanted to Own It”, written in 2019 by news reporter Ryan Mac, will tell you differently. As a note, this article was written in 2019 about Zuckerberg’s 2016 hostile actions against TikTok. This article that suggests Mark Zuckerberg wanted to kill TikTok or own it was written over five years ago. When Congress threatened the ban of TikTok recently, they gave the company two options: Shut down operations in America or sell to an American owner. Oligarch Elon Musk’s name was thrown around as a potential buyer, but had the company sold, seeing it rebranded as a Meta company wouldn’t have been too much of a shock.

In real time, over 170 million Americans are witnessing their country use mob-style tactics to enforce the not-so-grand ideas of Mark Zuckerberg, who wants to monopolize the internet. Right now, he’s probably on a private island or thirty thousand feet above sea level in a jet drinking sparkling water. Congress has legitimized selling American interests to fatten their own coffers.

The Impact

If you’re over thirty-eight years old, you probably think of TikTok as a place where people dance and make bad food, but it’s also a source of revenue for individuals and small business owners. This sudden loss in income and access to marketing could do irreparable harm to their businesses.

… the users and the algorithm seem to give all content creators a chance to be seen.

According to Statista.com, TikTok creator Charlie D’ Amelio earned about $23 million. The average creator who is not D’ Amelio earns $5,000 — 15,000 through TikTok. These are only estimates and do not reflect creators who may earn more through branding deals, endorsements or other means of income.

For instance, I didn’t create original TikTok videos, but I did repost content and screenshots of my own written projects. I uploaded a video on TikTok that got over 9 million views. That same video got less than 200 on Facebook. I can’t describe every TikTok user, but I can say the users and the algorithm seem to give all content creators a chance to be heard and seen. TikTok is an economically democratic place, if that could ever exist on an app.

The free promotion leads to off-app sales but also brand awareness. Now, with TikTok gone dark in America, these entrepreneurs and small businesses must start from the ground somewhere else and hope they have it as good as they did with TikTok.

Fight Back

Research the app RedNote, and download it in protest or simply because you’re looking for a TikTok replacement. It’s also Chinese-owned. Right now, it’s charting at #1 in the Apple App Store. It is a subsidiary of the company Xingin.

Also, write your local, state and federal representatives to voice your concerns. Use social media. They’re always on X. When billionaires are able to decide you can’t use an app because they don’t like competition, it’s time to tell them what you think.

The Takeaway

Meta owner and oligarch Mark Zuckerberg began his push to take or shut down TikTok in America in 2016 nearly a decade ago. It took him nearly ten years, but through persistency and lining the pockets of our Congresspeople, his efforts finally paid off. This is what happened to TikTok. 171 million Americans have lost access to an app that brought them a modicum of joy on a daily basis. Individuals and small businesses alike have lost significant revenue and access to marketing, and they will lose more. However, you can fight back by writing your representatives or downloading a TikTok alternative like RedNote.

On a lighter note, here are some of the hilarious reactions of other countries to Americans being forced off TikTok.

In the above screenshot, one user jokes “this feels like they took the annoyingly loud kid out of class and we’re all just sitting here,” as they reflect on the absence of Americans on TikTok. It seems accurate. The rest of this thread can be found here on Facebook.

Sunday, January 16, 2025: As an update, TikTok is seemingly back up and running as of a couple of hours ago but has not returned to any major American app store as of yet. Users are still able to access TikTok through the app if they had previously downloaded it. Some may also be able to log in using an internet browser.

Check out the confrontation that led one Amazon employee to stab another Amazon to death at work here.

This article was written by Jermaine Reed, MFA, the Editor-in-Chief of The Reeders Block, who also works an Adjunct College Professor. Join the email list to get notifications on new articles and books. This article is 100% human-written. And remember, if you see an error, that’s what makes us human. Subscribe and share.