On March 13, 2024, the US House of Representatives voted 352-65 in favour of a bipartisan piece of legislation for a TikTok, the popular China-based app, ban. It was for fears of national security concerns, with Democrats and Republicans issuing statements warning of a possible data harvesting campaign. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA.) says that TikTok could be used to spread “harmful” information to Americans, which TikTok denies. This ban could mean potential disruption for companies and brands that have shaped their whole strategy around the social-media app.
In a 2024 Hootsuite survey on social trends, brands place TikTok in 7th place for most trusted social media apps. It is not the best, but when you consider that it is ahead of Snapchat and X, you see the impact and the view people and companies alike have of the platform. In fact, TikTok is a trusted media for many small businesses with ByteDance’s application driving US$14.7 billion in revenue for them. It contributed US$24.2 billion to the GDP of the United States in 2023.
TikTok’s users spend a lot of time on the app: on average, users spend over 1.5 hours on it everyday. This gives more advertising opportunities. 35% of users have purchased an item advertised on the app.
Banning TikTok will hurt companies in the United States, and users and content creators are complaining. The app is increasingly popular everyday, and millions in revenue are at risk. It is time for the Senate to decide on the fate of TikTok. ByteDance needs to sell the platform for it to survive. If not, Congress’ upper chamber will most likely ban it.
Sources:
- Mimms, Evan. (January 5, 2023). “78% of Small Businesses Say TikTok Ads Drive Profits-Majority Within 6 Months”, Capterra. Taken from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230105005230/en/78-of-Small-Businesses-Say-TikTok-Ads-Drive-Profits%E2%80%94Majority-Within-6-Months
- Oliveros, Feli. (March 10, 2023) “Shoud I Use Tiktok for My Business? The Pros, Cons, and 3 Questions to Consider”, gusto. Taken from https://gusto.com/resources/articles/business-growth/tiktok-for-my-business
- Chan, Stephanie. (July, 2022). “Nearly One-Third of TikTok’s Installed Base Uses the App Every Day”. SensorTower. Taken from https://sensortower.com/blog/tiktok-power-user-curve
- Hootsuite. What are the top social trends for 2024? Taken from https://www.hootsuite.com/research/social-trends
- Schulz, Madeleine (2024, March 13). “As the US TikTok ban advances, what does it mean for brands?”. Vogue Business, Companies section. Taken from https://www.voguebusiness.com/story/companies/as-the-us-tiktok-ban-advances-what-does-it-mean-for-brands#:~:text=A%20TikTok%20ban%20would%20disrupt,in%20the%20US%20last%20September.
- Wong, Scott, Kyle Stewart and Rebecca Kaplan (2024, March 13). “House passes bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S., sending it to the Senate”. NBC News, Congress section. Taken from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/house-likely-pass-bill-ban-tiktok-sending-senate-rcna142797