The TikTok Ban Is Over, and Something Changed, but Not Only for USA: ‘The Most Peaceful 14 Hours of My Life’

The day the world ended was January 19, 2025, at least for many TikTok users on the USA side. Users in the USA experienced long and sad goodbyes, days in which they reposted their content on other networks and made lives to say farewell. Sincerely, sadness and chaos took over that side of the platform in its last hours of life before the prohibition. However, as the ban reached its first hours, the rest of the world experienced a very different side of the app that many will miss. This is because the TikTok ban was over, and it was back to being available in the USA as if nothing had happened.

For the rest of the world, there has been a before and after TikTok ban in the USA. Users explain that their FYP is usually full with content creators and posts from people in the USA. Also, there were more ads every few scrolls before all of this. So, while the ban was in effect, people could meet other TikTokers from countries they had never seen before, not just English speakers from Canada, the UK, or Australia. It was also surprising to most people how much more “quiet” everything felt. This was mainly because there were fewer people complaining, fighting, or making toxic comments. Of course, not all people in the USA are like this, but the rest of the world could come together, at least for 12 hours.

Another noticeable difference is that all users from various countries immediately started using the decimal metric system, changing to Celsius, entering dates as day/month/year, and much more.

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Of course, all this should be taken with a bit of humor, but what really made TikTok users open their eyes with the ban is how limited they are. Many would like to see more variety in their algorithm. Also, now the rest of the world sees how unfair it is that the TikTok creator fund is only for the USA, especially when they banned the app from there, even if it lasted a few hours. Also, this is without talking about TikTok’s headquarters in Shanghai.