The New TikTok & the Ban
January 19th is fast approaching, and to some that may mean nothing, but for the large latter, we are all impatiently waiting to see if the Supreme Court bans Tik Tok. All possible questions regarding the ban will be answered through continue reading.
Why is there a ban?
A large number of people are completely aware that there is a potential ban, but also completely unaware of why there is a ban. Tik Tok is owned by a Chinese company called ByteDance, who also owns Lemon8 and CapCut. Different levels of the United States Judicial system believe that Tik Tok is a threat to national security. Officials have stated that spying can easily take place, but also they can infiltrate our political views and change Americans’ way of thinking.
What will happen if Tik Tok is banned?
If the ban were to be put in place, Tik Tok will be removed from app stores like Apple‘s App Store and Google’s Play Store. Therefore, if you have the app before the ban, it will not be removed from your device, but no one will be able to download it once the ban happens. Because the app will be removed from the app stores, updates will not be possible to happen which will make the app work slower and have more bugs. Typically, updates happen because there are holes somewhere within the software of the app so without being able to update the system, it will be easier to hack people within the app.
VPN Chatter
Many people have been positing on Tik Tok that users can still access Tik Tok as long as they use a VPN so their internet does not say they are in the United States. Technically, when you use a VPN, you are able to download any apps from different regions. Although this was a good idea for someone who is ADDICTED to Tik Tok, this actually breaks the Service Agreement you definitely did not read. Even if you do not care about breaking the service agreement, Tik Tok can still figure out where you are using the app so it can show you a screen that says something like “Country does not allow access to this platform,” but will it? Professor Milton L. Mueller of the Georgia Institute of Technology - who filed a legal brief in support of TikTok - said a lack of clarity around how far the US could extend its authority to enforce the law makes knowing what technically happens if a ban goes ahead difficult to determine.
How Businesses will be affected
I frequently endulge in Marketing Dive’s blog posts when I am not obsessing over my own, and they wrote an entire blog on Pacsun and the effects the ban will have on them. Obviously certain businesses are on Tik Tok more than others, and Pacsun is a business that had a lot going for them on Tik Tok. When Tik Tok dropped their update with Tik Tok shop, many people were sketch. Pacsun eventually joined TikTok shop, and they were rolling in the dough through their many ambassadors, partnerships, and live streams. Businesses can make MILLIONS off of Tik Tok, so what will they do now?
Different options
There are a few options for different apps that may be the “new” Tik Tok. Obviously, we have Instagram and Facebook which include Meta Reels, but demographically Meta Reels audience typically receives more attention from an older crowd than the Gen Z crowd found on Tik Tok. People still watch YouTube (that is what news channels say), but I have not gone on YouTube probably in a few years unless it was to see how to build something. Twitch is also an option for those who have found their niche in live-streaming. Through some investigation I found an app called Clapper, but I have never used it. From the looks of it, it seems quite similar to Tik Tok. Then we have RedNote which I am also unfamiliar with, but it is the top downloaded app on the Apple App Store currently. From the looks of the mass amount of people who downloaded RedNote, that may be the new TikTok. I do not think that the shift will happen fast though because people will be skeptical of certain platforms for a while.
The Verdict
Tik Tok drama has long meant that there is major beef between creators on Tik Tok like the predisposed Brianna Chickenfry/Ken Eurich drama before the Tarte trip. Now Tik Tok drama has a whole new meaning, especially since many of the popular creators dropped out of school to be a content creator full time. (Not a very responsible decision on their part but I digress.) If you ask me, IF Tik Tok gets banned, I do not think RedNote is the way to go. We are losing Tik Tok because it is Chinese owned, so why would we go to another Chinese owned app? I think a new platform will come about because software designers know there is a significant demand for a platform like Tik Tok. Anything more than that is completely up in the air right now, and I cannot WAIT to start posting on whatever new platform comes to the surface!
