Social media and politics: What you need to know about a potential TikTok ban

If you’ve been watching or reading the news at all, you’ve probably heard talk about banning TikTok in the United States despite the popularity of the app.

Let’s dig into what’s going on, the implications on the influencer industry and marketing for brands, and more.

What’s going on with TikTok and why?

Tiktok is currently owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. On April 24th, 2024, United States President Joe Biden signed legislation giving ByteDance until January 19, 2025 to sell the app to a U.S. company and if a deal was not reached, the popular app would be banned. However, on May 7th, ByteDance filed a lawsuit seeking to block the legislation, which they say is unconstitutional.

So why does the U.S. want to sell or ban the app? The United States government wants to sell or ban the app over concerns of national security.

They are also not the first and only country to do so; in 2020, India banned the app.

Learn more about it here.

What does this mean for influencers and brands?

Due to the popularity of TikTok, it has become a major player in the social media space, with  influencers and brands flocking to and thriving on the app, so a ban can seriously affect many people and businesses. For example, many U.S. based creators make money on the app through partnerships, TikTok’s Creator Fund, through making money on TikTok live, and more. Brands on the other hand are likely putting a portion of their marketing budget towards marketing on TikTok and working with influencers on the app. Additionally many are selling products through the TikTok Shop.

While major brands or influencers will undoubtedly feel the effects of the ban, they likely have a large presence across other platforms to fall back on a little and will need to adapt. However, small businesses and creators may have more trouble adapting to and being discovered on other platforms than they did on TikTok and the effects of a ban may be more devastating for them.

If a ban does happen, we may see some major changes across other platforms, for example, short form content on other platforms, such as Reels and YouTube Shorts may become even more popular.

While the app is not banned in Canada, we may see some of the effects trickle down to us as well. For example, although Canadian influencers are not eligible for the TikTok Creator Fund, many make money on the app through partnerships and part of their audience may be located in the U.S. With this in mind, some Canadian influencers may see their followers, engagement, and other stats drop if a ban happens, and this could affect whether or not brands are working with them.

What should we take from this and how do we move forward?

As a potential ban looms closer, it’s important to ensure that you revisit and diversify your strategy and efforts. For example, for smaller businesses and for creators this could mean working on creating a presence across other platforms. You could even begin simply cross posting your content from TikTok to YT Shorts or Instagram Reels, for example. Ensure you’re engaging with your TikTok audience and building a strong community, so that they will migrate and follow you on other apps if the ban does take place.

As we get closer to the January deadline and as this unfolds more, brands, influencers, and marketing professionals alike will have to keep a close eye on the developments and may need to start preparing and strategizing for a potential ban.