By skyforbes 
Revival of TikTok, Free Speech, and Oligarchic State
On January 18, 2025 — one day before a federal law was set to require TikTok to stop operating in the United States or transfer its ownership to a U.S. company — all TikTok operations in the U.S. ceased to a stop, and the app was removed from the App Store and Google Play.
But immediately afterward, then President-elect Donald J. Trump issued a statement saying his government would not prosecute TikTok or anyone who helped it keep operating in the United States.
On January 20, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated and officially became the 47th president of the United States. That same day, an executive order postponed enforcement of the TikTok sale-or-ban law for 75 days, bringing TikTok back to life.
The most notable aspect of this farce is that while President Trump currently opposes the ban, he was also the one who initially pushed for it. This reversal provides an interesting specimen of the political system in the US.
Why the US Wanted to Ban TikTok
Back in September 2019, TikTok first emerged as a political issue when reports from major U.S. newspapers highlighted how TikTok had allegedly manipulated its algorithms to limit topics sensitive to the Chinese government. This raised concerns that China could use the app to influence political outcomes in America. A…