If you haven’t been keeping up with the news lately, popular video app TikTok (previously named Musical.ly) is at risk of being banned from the U.S. The social media platform has amassed more than one billion monthly active users, but privacy concerns have brought government attention to its presence.
WHY DO PEOPLE WANT TO BAN TIKTOK?
TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance Ltd., was founded by Chinese entrepreneur Zhang Yiming in 2012. A key reason for the US government’s apprehension of the app is due to the possibility of the Chinese authorities taking hold of the data TikTok collects on American users. This includes registration information (such as age, email, phone number), profile information (like social media account information and profile image), user-generated content, and also payment information. Additionally, the app will take data from users’ linked accounts (such as Instagram) which can reveal IP addresses and location.
American legislators have raised the metaphorical red flag, as they believe this data could then be used to a) spy on American users and b) feed them misinformation on topics that China wants to sway perspective on. The three main politicians supporting this ban are Republican Senator Marco Rubio (Florida), Republican Representative Mike Gallagher (Wisconsin), and Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (Illinois).
WHAT IS TIKTOK’S RESPONSE?
CEO Shou Zi Chew has argued the app prioritizes user safety, as both Democratic and Republican representatives question him in court. In agreement, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning has said the Chinese government has not and will not ass companies to “collect or provide data, information or intelligence” held in foreign companies, and that the U.S. “has not provided any evidence so far to prove that TikTok threatens U.S. national security,” (Ning, 2023).
WHAT WOULD A BAN MEAN FOR USERS?
Besides the upset that would come from the 150 million American users losing a big part of their personal entertainment, there are other implications that businesses should prepare for.
Social media marketing, as we all know, is a very successful tool to build a successful business. In today’s age, the most successful platforms for this are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, WeChat, and TikTok (Lua, 2023). If TikTok was banned, companies would lose a huge chunk of advertising space for reaching their U.S. market. Though there would still be many other platforms, let’s put it in perspective what the loss of a big one would mean.
THE IMPACT OF TIKTOK IN SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
TikTok is one of the fastest-growing apps in the world, and has a high engagement rate that continues to rise above the others (see graph below). As any social media manager knows, user engagement is incredible for a brand’s image, and with such active users, TikTok is a huge opportunity for brand promotion.
Losing access to the app would cause a massive split for global companies, as they would have to have entirely separate TikTok campaigns marketing only towards countries it is still allowed in. On top of this, having to push more content on their other socials allowed in the U.S. to compensate for the sudden loss of reach would be an additional project.
Project Texas, a different strategy to outright losing all American users on the app, proposes that TikTok houses all American user data separately. Though this sounds like a suitable idea in terms of keeping U.S. data out of China, it would mean the algorithm within the states is completely different than outside of it. American users would be walled off from the rest of the world, which would be a huge issue for international marketing. With different algorithms, consumers inside and outside of the U.S. market would be fed different content, which then raises the question of how brands could successfully reach both while still being efficient and budget conscious.
WHAT’S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW?
It’s a lot of information to take in, but don’t panic! So far, the biggest change has been the app being banned on federal devices; meaning no U.S. government staffer can have it on their work phone. Besides that, there still isn’t a guarantee that a country-wide ban of the platform would actually happen (court proceedings are still occurring).
If the ban were to go through, it wouldn’t be an overnight change. It would take at least a year to slowly transition away from TikTok, starting first with its removal from the app store. Companies would have some time to strategize what their next move is for their social media. It will be interesting to see what happens next, maybe even the birth of a new social media app is in the near future! The industry is constantly evolving, so a strong social media marketing team should be creative, adaptable, and understand current consumer interests.
References:
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/us-chinese-owned-tiktok-security-threat-98098015
https://buffer.com/library/social-media-sites/
https://www.polygon.com/23653413/tiktok-ban-why-ceo-shou-zi-chew-explained
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/03/tiktok-ban-us-social-media
https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/