The Chimes Weekly

Last April, the Senate passed legislation that would ban TikTok in the U.S unless its owners agreed to sell the platform. After the app’s parent company ByteDance filed a First Amendment lawsuit challenging the ban, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the ban two days before it was set to take effect. TikTok failed to secure a deal in time and the platform went dark on Jan. 18. However, it returned the next day after then-President-elect Donald Trump announced he would pause the ban, with a pop-up message that read, “​​Welcome back! Thanks for your patience and support. As a result of President Trump's efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”

According to an executive order signed on the day of President Trump’s inauguration, the ban has now been postponed for a 75 day period. In this episode, Thomas Rahkola interviews Biola students senior Anjoli “Jo” Person, freshman Eve Harter, freshman Matthew Jonker and sophomore Sarah Kim to get their perspective on the app and the U.S. government’s efforts to ban it.

For more details about this week's headlines: Collision above Reagan National Airport, Torrey Oxford, ICE raids, White House attempts to freeze grant spending

Find more stories at The Chimes’ website. Find the transcript of this episode here.

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Producer
Thomas Rahkola
Producer of The Chimes Weekly podcast

What is The Chimes Weekly?

Bite-sized podcast episodes with your top news stories from The Chimes, Los Angeles County, the nation and the world, with an interview with a Chimes writer to close out your week.

By Biola University students, for Biola University students. Previously known as Chimes Rundown and KBR Daily News Updates by KBR The Torch.

>> Thomas Rahkola: From the Torch Podcast Network, this is the Chimes Weekly. I'm Thomas Rahkola reporting from Biola University. It's Friday, January 31st.

>> Sarah Kim: I hate it. I was like, I literally was like having like a midlife crisis.

>> Matthew Jonker: You know what, this gives you an excuse to, you know, maybe set the phone down for a little bit, you know, maybe decrease that screen time.

>> Thomas Rahkola: This week I talked to Biola students about TikTok and the recent attempt by the US government to ban it. Stick around to hear how college students feel about the ban and how it has affected them so far. But first, here's this week's headlines. On Wednesday night, a collision between a commercial jet and an army helicopter resulted in the death of 67 people. The collision occurred near Reagan National Airport, roughly five miles outside Washington, D.C. Recovery efforts are ongoing and the cause of the incident remains unclear. This week, Biola's Torrey Honors College announced a new study abroad program in partnership with Wycliffe hall of the University of Oxford. Students in the program will spend a semester studying at one of the world's oldest universities and earn 13 honors course credits. To learn more about this opportunity, visit the Torrey Oxford page on Biola's website On Saturday, Biola women's and men's basketball teams will face off against conference rival, Azua Pacific, for the Cornerstone Cup. The games are at 5:30 and 7:30pm As President Trump's executive orders take effect, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, has begun to make arrests at an increased rate across the country. Sanctuary cities including Los Angeles and Chicago seem to have been prioritized. According to the reports posted by Ice on X (formerly Twitter), the agency has made more than 5,500 arrests since January 23rd. A memo issued by the White House on Monday froze all spending on federal loans and grants. After nationwide confusion and legal challenges in response to the memo, it was rescinded on Wednesday. In a statement by White House Press Secretary Carolyn Levitt, the administration stated that the executive order mandating reviews of federal funding is still in place. That's it for this week's headlines. In April of 2024, the Senate passed legislation that would ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it agreed to sell the platform. After the Supreme Court upheld the law against a First Amendment challenge and TikTok failed to make a deal, the platform went dark on Saturday, January 18th. It returned the next day, however, after then President- elect Donald Trump announced he would pause the ban in line with an executive order signed on the day of his inauguration. The ban has now been postponed for a 75 day period. This week I went to Biola students and tried to get their perspective on the app and the U.S. government's attempt to ban it. This is Jo Person, a senior CMA major. Do you think TikTok is a threat to national security?

>> Joe Person: No. That's an interesting question, I think because, I mean I've worked in social media for the last like five or six years and I think just a lot of other forms of social media take more information than TikTok does. Um, there'a study, I can't like plug it because I don't have it right here, but there was a study that showed that Meta- owned products, so like Instagram and Facebook, take a lot more data than TikTok actually does. Um, so I would say that that's the reason why I don't fear for my national security.

>> Thomas Rahkola: Other Biolans were less concerned about the ban, seeing it as an opportunity for some people to spend less time on their phones.

>> Matthew Jonker: I'm not a huge social media user and that's just because I don't think it's very helpful for my everyday life.

>> Thomas Rahkola: That was Matthew Jonker a freshman in the CMA program. Next, I talked to another freshman and biological science major, Eve Harter

>> Eve Harter: I would say I think that the idea of scrolling and the idea of sharing media through TikTok is often abused.

>> Matthew Jonker: I was happy. I thought that a lot of my friends were kind of freaking out because they were like, "Oh, what I'm gonna do now?" But in my mind I was kind of like, you know what, this gives you an excuse to, you know, maybe set the phone down for a little bit, you know. Maybe decrease that screen time. But then again, that's just the way I kind of approach social media. So it's like just one opinion on that matter.

>> Eve Harter: Honestly, it's a good thing, especially when it comes to just like preserving our attention span when it just like there's so many scientific studies like how TikTok and that form of media really impacts people.

>> Thomas Rahkola: While TikTok may seem like a waste of time to some, it was clear that certain students found the ban very disappointing, pointing out the number of people whose livelihoods would be affected. Here's Sarah Kim, a sophomore in the pre nursing program. What do you think about the ban?

>> Sarah Kim: I hate it. I was, I literally was like having a midlife crisis. I think TikTok is a part of life. Like people make income off of TikTok, right? Like influencers, a lot of people in America, they're living off of TikTok

>> Sarah Kim: Like actually, like they need TikTok to make money to provide for their family. So it's not just like a thing that like, you know, we just like. It also influences social systems, like trends and everything like that. I think it's really important.

>> Joe Person: I think for some people, TikTok can kind of be an addiction. I don't think necessarily for me or for like a bunch of people. I know that it can be that for a lot of people. I know it also can serve as a great creative outlet. I mean, for me it definitely has been. It also, you know, serves as a great business for a lot of people. They make a lot of their money that way, and, you know, they're able to support their business because of that or they're able to support their families due to their TikTok content. So yeah, I think that's kind of how it serves our generation a little bit.

>> Sarah Kim: We're able to like, talk about like our struggles on TikTok. Like, whether it's you know... Like a lot of people cry on TikTok, and we're sharing things, you know.

>> Joe Person: But for me, if there's no deal reached at the end of the 75 days and TikTok has to go away, I probably still won't delete the app because I don't believe it's gone forever. But definitely remove it from my home screen and I'll be sad for like a day or so.

>> Thomas Rahkola: Thanks for listening. As always, if you enjoyed the show, leave us a review and share it with a friend or roommate. For more stories from the Chimes, head over to our website at Chimesnewpaper.com. This episode was produced by Thomas Rahkola, engineered by Hope Li and Jason Lee, with music from Warner Chappell Productions. I'm Thomas Rahkola, we'll see you next week.