TikTok has been banned on government networks and devices in the US, Canada and the European Union. But are the moves having any effect?

When TikTok would not load on her university’s wi-fi network earlier this year student Liz Barr was stymied – but not for long.

She soon figured ways around the block using personal mobile data or a virtual private network (VPN). The block had been introduced after state officials in Maryland banned the video app on government networks, citing national security concerns.

“I was annoyed, because I live here and I get bored,” says the 18-year-old, who is studying computer science and creative writing at St Mary’s College of Maryland. “But now it works, so it’s not that big of a problem.”

The workaround shows the quandary facing the US and other countries as they threaten to crack down on TikTok, which has exploded in global popularity in recent years offering an endless feed of user-generated makeup tutorials, life hacks, silly dances, and other confessionals curated by algorithm.

TikTok’s chief executive is due to appear this month in Congress, which is debating various proposals that could result in a wider national ban, while the company remains in a years-long negotiation with the White House about what changes it could make to satisfy the security concerns.

But among the app’s prime users in the US – people aged under 25 – the general frenzy has done little to dent use, if they’re aware of it at all.

At the University of Oklahoma, which announced it was blocking the app on the campus wi-fi in December, students were surprised and annoyed but “people were pretty quick to figure it out and navigate it,” says student body president Christopher Firch, noting that most people can simply switch from wi-fi to a personal mobile data plan to get around the ban.