Week in Geek: TikTok got banned—and then came back

Let’s be real: that TikTok ban was more of a timeout than a ban. Here’s the week in geek.

It’s certainly been quite a week for those on the internet. Well, at least for those in the US. And it was really just a day. Actually, it was less than a day. Americans dreaded the TikTok ban for the longest time, and voilà, it finally happened—and then it came back not even a day later. Other than that, the Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been confirmed and we also said goodbye to one of the most iconic filmmakers of our generation this week.

[Hero image: Aaron Weiss/Unsplash]

The Nintendo Switch 2 is on the way, David Lynch passed away, and TikTok was banned and came back on the same day. Here’s what you may have missed this week in geek. 

TikTok went dark in the US and then came back after about 14 hours

Well, it happened—and then it didn’t. With the US Supreme Court upholding the ruling that Chinese company ByteDance had to sell TikTok or the app will no longer be available in the country, the dreaded TikTok ban finally went into effect on Sunday. People mourned. Creators threw caution in the wind, posted locked-up drafts, and revealed long-held secrets. It was like the band on the Titanic: they kept playing as the Chinese ship went down.

And then almost just half a day later, the app was back. The app thanked President-elect Donald Trump who promised that he would sign an executive order to stop the ban when he’s sworn back into office this Monday. It’s funny since he was the one who called to ban it in the first place back when he was President.

The Nintendo Switch 2 has finally been revealed

Nintendo proved that gamers’ speculations were true when it unveiled the brand new sleek-looking Nintendo Switch 2. The new handheld console is set to be released sometime in 2025. There weren’t a lot of details that were revealed but a Nintendo Direct set for February 4 will shed more light on the console’s capabilities. 

David Lynch, iconic director of Dune and creator of Twin Peaks, passed away 

Filmmaker, director, actor, and musician David Lynch sadly died on January 15. Lynch was known for his surrealism in his films, which is heavily present in Twin Peaks, a show he created with Mark Frost, and the very first Dune film adaptation. Lynch was diagnosed with emphysema in 2020 due to his smoking and passed away just five days short of 79th birthday. 

The first trailer for Daredevil: Born Again dropped…

Matt Murdock is back—properly this time with his own MCU TV show. The very first trailer for Daredevil: Born Again pulls no punches, literally. Disney seems to want to make it clear that they’re not shying away from violence, and while Deadpool & Wolverine did prove that already, it’s a little more visceral in the upcoming series. The show premieres this March on Disney+.

… and so did the first trailer for the movie adaptation of Until Dawn

The film adaptation of Until Dawn also got its very first trailer, but calling it an adaptation may be incorrect. The film has a completely different plot from the game following a group of friends who get stuck in a house where they have to relive the same night over and over with a different killer or creature hunting down every night. Is it possible the movie and the game are set in the same universe? Guess we’ll have to find out when it’s released on April 25.