Despite the app’s return, TikTok’s future in the U.S. remains uncertain. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law mandating the app’s divestment, increasing pressure on ByteDance to find a suitable buyer.

With over 1.5 billion global users, TikTok has long been accused of posing national security threats, violating privacy, harming mental health, and spreading fake news. Several countries have already taken action: Albania banned it over concerns about security and extremist content; Venezuela fined ByteDance $10 million for privacy violations and manipulating political information. In Romania, TikTok was accused of interfering in the presidential elections by promoting far-right candidate Călin Georgescu through pro-Russian campaigns. The Constitutional Court later annulled Georgescu’s election results.

The accusations against TikTok are significant but reflect a broader issue affecting all social media platforms. Scandals such as Cambridge Analytica or Elon Musk’s controversial use of X demonstrate that the power of manipulation is not limited to the Chinese app.

Banning TikTok might provide a temporary fix but risks failing to address a systemic issue: the lack of global regulation for the social media ecosystem. The real challenge lies in ensuring transparency, security, and information protection across all digital platforms, regardless of their origin. Only with a shared regulatory framework can the root problem be effectively tackled.