There’s been tons of talk about a potential ban on TikTok. And it may happen.
Here are the facts:
- March 7: Bipartisan House committee passed the motion to ban TikTok 50 to 0
- March 13: The House voted 352 to 65 to pass the bill to ban TikTok
- President Biden stated in his State of the Union address that he would sign the proposed ban if Congress passes it.
- The bill is now with the Senate for review and consideration
- TikTok is spending millions of dollars advertising in key battleground states
So what happens if the Senate passes the bill and President Biden signs it?
Keep in mind that it will take six months for any ban to go into effect. Who knows what could happen during that time. Since the app is such a success, it’s likely it will get bought – but by whom is a bit of a question mark – especially since it’s so expensive.
Should you continue to invest in deepening your relationship with the app? We wouldn’t. It doesn’t make sense to invest in the app when the future is so unknown. Should you stop your current activities there? No.
So what do you do? Stay the course. At least for now.
If a bill is signed, we’ll likely see a big shift to YouTube. Influencers have enjoyed direct compensation from TikTok, and it makes sense that they would migrate to YouTube for the ad revenue potential (albeit much less than TikTok payments). YouTube allows influencers to earn a cut of ad revenue through its YouTube Partner Program. YouTube gives influencers 55% of the profits and keeps 45%. For Shorts, influencers get 45%, and YouTube keeps 55%.
At the end of the day
The fate of TikTok lies with the Senate. TikTok is encouraging its users to advocate (hello, #KeepTikTok), but will Senators really listen to millions of users (and voting constituents) when they believe a national security threat is on the line?
Being malleable is vital. As is paying attention to your analytics, using organic social listening tools, and seeing what the platform’s biggest influencers do. They’ll likely sway the tide for the rest.
