“Longer than Selena Gomez’s Instagram breaks”: Users hilariously note that TikTok's 14.5-hour ban lasted longer than singer's IG breaks

On January 19, 2025, the United States decided to give TikTok a temporary time-out for a solid 14.5 hours. That’s because a federal law asked TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to either sell TikTok or shut down in the U.S. and the Supreme Court gave a big thumbs-up to this law, all in the name of national security.

Apparently, Uncle Sam isn’t too thrilled about the potential for data privacy breaches and spying from across the Pacific.

But let's take a moment to appreciate the irony here—this TikTok ban actually lasted longer than Selena Gomez’s infamous Instagram hiatuses. Well, who hasn’t noticed how quickly Selena Gomez bounces back onto the 'Gram after announcing she’s taking a break?

An X handle hilariously noted: “TikTok was banned for only 14 and a half hours, lasting longer than Selena Gomez’s Instagram breaks.”

A user humorously commented: “not Selena always catching a stray 😭😭”

Another added: “Yall did not have to come for her like that 😭😭”

“This is a crazy callout”, a user mentioned.

"Guess TikTok couldn’t stay away for too long—Selena, take notes!", another user said.

A user quipped: “OH ???? YALL GOING TO HELL 😭😭”

“THE COMPARISON IM DEAD”, a comment read.

---

Timeline of events leading to the TikTok ban

January 17, 2025: The United States Supreme Court decided unanimously that TikTok has to be sold either to a company based in the United States or to an allied company, or it's outta here. TikTok fought this legislation tooth and nail, but the law won.

January 19, 2025: By Saturday night, TikTok was MIA in the United States. Any user opening the app was presented with a sad little message indicating that TikTok was unavailable because of the new law.

January 20, 2025: Just when panic was brewing among the TikTokers, President Trump declared that enforcing the ban on TikTok is likely to be delayed by 90 days as everyone tries to cool down and negotiate TikTok's fate.

---

Reasons for the TikTok ban

The U.S. government isn’t just being extra for no reason. They’re worried that TikTok might be a Trojan horse for the Chinese government to snoop on American users or mess with the content we see.

Moreover, FBI Director Christopher Wray called it a risk to national security.

---

Implications for users and creators

The short-lived ban wasn’t just an oops moment; it hit millions of users hard. Content creators and small businesses that depend on TikTok for income were in full-on panic mode.

Jessica Simon, a small business owner, told CBS News that TikTok was responsible for 98% of her sales. That’s a serious chunk of change at risk.

"That much of our business comes from people seeing our products on TikTok and buying it through our TikTok shop, or coming to our website. I am still processing the news."

---

Selena Gomez and TikTok ban

So, how does Selena Gomez fit into all this? Well, it’s all about those comparisons. Selena’s got a rep for taking short breaks from Instagram whenever the heat gets too much—whether it’s backlash from comments on global issues or just personal challenges.

But she’s always back before you know it, sometimes within hours.

In her most recent case, Selena Gomez hit pause due to backlash over her comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying she needed to step back from the negativity. Yet, as always, she’s back to posting soon enough, reminding us that some things never change.