Will TikTok get banned in the US? The rumor that just won’t die is alive again.
The Bill
US politicians passed a bill in the House of Representatives that could ban the app, and it received rare support across party lines. But, that doesn’t mean that the app is banned. Plenty more needs to happen.
The bill still needs to be approved in the Senate, and that’s far from automatic. We’ll quickly find out if politicians are serious about banning the app, or if it’s no more than posturing and tough talk for points.
If the Senate approves it, parent company ByteDance has six months to sell the app. This won’t be easy since few suitors can afford what TikTok would command.
Between the required Senate approval and the likely court challenges that will slow down the process, a resolution is likely beyond six months away.
What a Ban Means
If the app gets banned, it will be illegal for app stores to offer it and internet service providers to host it in the US. This would prevent new downloads, but it won’t prevent current users who already downloaded the app from using it.
That said, current users won’t get access to updates. That will eventually slow the app down and make it unusable. Some will find workarounds using VPNs, but the app would otherwise eventually die in the US.
Who Me, Worried?
Am I worried about a TikTok ban? Not really.
First, I’m still not convinced this will happen. I’m not an expert on the threat level that TikTok poses, but I’ll be curious to see if politicians end up backing down in the face of an inevitable backlash — both from active users and businesses who rely on it. Especially in an election year.
But if it gets banned, people will move on to something else. If you built a large following on TikTok, those same people will scramble to find those they followed on other platforms.
I’ve built a following on TikTok of more than 30k in about a year and a half. Losing that wouldn’t be great, but it’s not the end of the world either. We know that we control nothing on social platforms, and it’s just another adjustment.
Rented Land, etc…
It’s also a reminder of why you should diversify and not focus entirely on one platform. The videos I publish to TikTok also go to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and my website. I wouldn’t need to make any changes if this happens.
There have been enough reminders over the years that you shouldn’t be reliant entirely on a single platform. Twitter was the most recent example of that.
Did you learn?
