What a TikTok ban would mean for Americans
Despite assurances from ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company of no intention to sell, the passage of the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act" raises concerns about a TikTok ban in the United States.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law, gaining bipartisan support and giving ByteDance, a Beijing company nine months, extendable to twelve, to sell its interest in TikTok or face a nationwide ban.
The potential ban is driven by national security concerns about potential data leaks to the Chinese government, with significant political ramifications.
TikTok has stressed its independence from the Chinese government. However, with its parent company being headquartered in the Chinese capital, officials from Washington fear there is a possibility of sharing user data from TikTok with Chinese authorities if compelled.
"TikTok claims they don't store American user data in China. That's nice. But all it takes is one knock on the door of their parent company based in China from a Communist Party official for that data to be transferred to the Chinese government's hands," said US Senator Josh Hawley.
For the 170 million American TikTok users, the uncertainty surrounding the platform's potential ban poses challenges for influencers, a cornerstone of TikTok's ecosystem.
Given TikTok's predominantly young user base, the potential ban threatens to disrupt businesses' ability to connect with this demographic.
According to TikTok's Economic Impact Report 2024, the platform has been used by 55 million people in the United States for transactions. The report also indicates that TikTok contributed $14.7 billion to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in 2023, and a total of $24.2 billion in overall economic activity.
Individuals like Delyanne Barros, a personal finance coach who credits the Chinese-owned platform for catapulting her business said "A ban would result in me losing a major part of my business. I would definitely feel a hit," she told CBS News.
Denish Shah, a marketing professor at Georgia State's Robinson College of Business, told Newsweek, "It will definitely affect businesses that rely on TikTok to acquire new customers and/or promote their products and services through TikTok."
Should TikTok be banned, creators are likely to migrate to alternative platforms to cash out on the creator economy valued at $250 billion in 2022, which is expected to double, reaching $480 billion by 2027, according to Goldman Sachs.
