Lawmakers, such as President Joe Biden, who has said he will sign the bill, say China’s relationship with ByteDance poses a national security risk.
The prospect that TikTok’s 170 million users in the U. S. will be able to find a way toFailure to do so in the U. S. Department of Homeland Security can have far-reaching consequences for corporations looking to increase the logo’s popularity among users through the site’s popular short videos.
The site has been welcomed by the industry. Among the most followed companies on TikTok are Ryanair with 2. 2 million, Expedia and Trip. com with 1. 5 million and Booking. com with 1. 2 million. When Berlin-based GetYourGuide published a job posting for a TikTok creator, it sparked so much interest that the virtual reporting marketplace pulled it off LinkedIn.
The bill faces a dubious long-term in the Senate, where some members have voted against it. And even if the bill becomes law, demanding legal situations are likely to arise.
There is a precedent for this possibility.
In December 2022, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an executive order banning the use of TikTok on state government wireless devices and networks. That the state’s destination marketing organization, Virginia Tourism, had to delete their accounts.
The incident is a case examined for Richie Karaburun’s marketing and branding course.
“They were doing well,” Karaburun, a professor of hospitality and tourism at New York University, said of BMD. “They had a huge following. “
After the ban, Virginia Tourism streamed its content on other sites, such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, which Karaburun hopes other corporations would do if the TikTok ban had been extended nationwide, but he doesn’t expect it to be simple or as beneficial. , especially in the short term.
“TikTok, whether people have to admit it or not, is one of the most effective traffic generators. The engagement rate is one of the highest among Americans compared to other [social media platforms],” he said. “It’s more than an 800-pound gorilla. It’s a very big beast that works very well. “
Madeline List, a researcher at Phocuswright, noted that Americans who use TikTok generally don’t use it exclusively. A study from the U. S. Consumer Travel ReportUU. de 2023 from Phocuswright found that social media users use an average of 2. 4 platforms, making it easier for businesses to locate them, even if they can no longer use TikTok.
“In terms of content strategy, a lot of the content that brands post on TikTok is repurposed for multiple platforms,” List said. “Since vertical and short-form videos are so popular, I would expect a lot of brands to continue producing content. in this style. “
Jared Alster, co-founder and chief strategy officer of travel and tourism marketing firm Dune7, agrees: “A lot of travel brands and brands in general are repurposing their content on social platforms,” Alster said. “”However, this is not recommended as each platform is optimized for consumers to view content in a format unique to that platform. But I think a lot of companies would just move their TikTok content to Instagram as reels as a “ranking metric” until “Get it. A longer-term strategy. “
In the long run, companies might find that some of the qualities presented through TikTok would be difficult to reflect on other sites, List said.
“It’s a platform that fosters studies and discovery,” he said. “You’re seeing videos from small creators explode, even those from other people or brands that don’t intend to go viral. There are many opportunities for brands, big and small, to succeed in new audiences through the platform. “
Instagram, on the other hand, is known for being less egalitarian in its algorithms, he said. “Profiles with many existing fans are favored, while smaller fans are less likely to attract new eyes. Therefore, construction can be more complicated. ” without the platform, especially for smaller brands. ”
To justify such a sweeping ban, the government would have to demonstrate a security risk, lawyers say. Intelligence officials told lawmakers on Tuesday that they “cannot rule out” the Chinese government’s TikTok option of influencing this year’s election, though they have no indication that the Chinese intend to do so.
Corinne Mullen, a New Jersey attorney who specializes in First Amendment litigation and online defamation, finds the government’s stance problematic.
“I think we’ll see records if this goes into effect,” he said.
In November, a federal ruling blocked a Montana law to ban TikTok in that state.
And on Tuesday, Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union joined 22 civil liberties, generational political and loose-talking organizations in sending a letter of opposition to Congress.
The teams argue that the ban would violate TikTok users’ First Amendment rights and have called on Congress to pass comprehensive privacy legislation.
The bill “is censorship, natural and simple,” the letter said, adding: “Passage of this law would trample on the constitutional right to free speech of millions of other people in the United States. TikTok is home to massive amounts of expressions and associations: it allows its users to exchange opinions, share their hobbies, create art, and access news from the domain and the world. Endangering access to the platform jeopardizes access to freedom of expression.
Mullen said users’ use of TikTok as a data source may make the government’s cause even more problematic.
“We’ve never had a stage in the U. S. “We are not going to be able to use a means of communication in the U. S. ,” he said. “I understand the justification for banning it on an official phone. . . They’ve already banned TikTok from official [U. S. ] business phones. In the U. S. ] But how they can ban it on personal phones is very problematic. “
Even in the event that a ban becomes law and withstands a legal challenge, Mullen said he hopes U. S. corporations can continue TikTok to market its products to consumers who can still access the site.
Tourism marketing experts agree.
“All kinds of apps and social sites are banned by various governments around the world,” Dune7’s Alster said. “But where there’s a will, there’s a way, and there will be loopholes for consumers to access TikTok. “
Travel agencies, in particular, are accustomed to adapting to others when they cross government borders, Karaburun said.
“Global corporations are used to dealing with those differences,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘All right, we’ve got to do this for European consumers, we’ve got to do this for Americans. ‘It’s not going to be easy, though, you’re going to see. “
Ultimately, however, he believes that a ban is a less likely outcome than the bill’s failure to go into effect or the sale of TikTok within the timeframe set by lawmakers.
“TikTok probably wouldn’t be banned [in the U. S. ]. It’s too big — 170 million Americans,” he said. “And that’s smart for the U. S. economy. So I hope that even if the Senate approves it, the challenge “will be resolved within six months. “
Source: PhocusWire