TikTok

Viral short-form video-focused social media platform TikTok is facing an increasingly hostile environment across “Western” countries like the USA, UK and in the European Union. Momentum is building towards an outright ban that could have big consequences for advertisers, and create big winners and losers.

In recent weeks, multiple governments in these countries have moved to ban TikTok from government employee devices over espionage concerns.

Motivating the bans are concerns that TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, could share user information with the authoritarian communist Chinese government, and that the app could be used for spying.

“It’s disappointing to see that other government bodies and institutions are banning TikTok on employee devices with no deliberation or evidence,” said a TikTok spokesperson regarding the bans.

Momentum Builds Towards Outright US Ban

Exacerbating concerns is an ongoing US Department of Justice investigation into TikTok which alleges the app was used to spy on US journalists at BuzzFeed and the Financial Times.

According to the investigation, TikTok employees may have accessed journalist data to link them to leaks of company data. Employees involved are no longer employed by ByteDance, the company announced a week ago, saying it strongly condemns their actions.

Earlier this month, the US government demanded that ByteDance sell its stake in TikTok, or else the platform could face an outright ban.

A bipartisan group of US Senators this month introduced a new bull that would give the administration the power to ban Chinese apps deemed as posing a threat to national security, including TikTok.

TikTok’s CEO appeared in the US Congress this week in an effort to argue against a ban. The app will be kept “free from any manipulation by any government,” he told a hostile panel of US legislators. Legislators seemed unimpressed by his remarks and continued to express concerns about potential Chinese communist party influence ByteDance.

According to Insider Intelligence, 18.7% of internet users (over 830 million people) use TikTok at least once per month in 2023, with that percentage expected to rise above 20% by 2025 (over 950 million people) – assuming no ban in major Western nations like the US.

2 in 3 US teenagers are also reported to use the app, with TikTok also reportedly in control of 2.3% of the global digital advertisement market.

Who Would the Winners and Losers of a TikTok Ban Be?

An outright TikTok ban in the US and across other Western countries would wreak havoc across the massive industry of creators and influences who make a living and have built businesses out of TikTok.

Many of these creators also maintain a strong presence across platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube, so many would maintain a lifeline. But it’s pretty much consensus amongst the creator space that a TikTok ban would be an unmitigated disaster.

While that might be the case for creators, a TikTok ban would be major boon for the Chinese platform’s major aforementioned rivals like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. All of these platforms, especially Facebook, have experienced slowing growth in recent years whilst TikTok has experienced accelerated adoption.

The implications of a TikTok ban “are great for anybody that has been losing market share to TikTok,” said Needham analyst Laura Martin in a recent interview with CNBC. Snap, Meta’s Facebook and Google’s YouTube could be “huge beneficiaries” if the ban goes ahead, she remarked.

“A US ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide,” a TikTok spokesperson recently remarked.

Wall Street Memes (WSM) - Newest Meme Coin

Our Rating

Wall Street Memes
  • Community of 1 Million Followers
  • Experienced NFT Project Founders
  • Listed On OKX
  • Staking Rewards
Wall Street Memes
Visit OKX