TikTok on the Clock
If the United States government was a bucking bronco and TikTok was a rodeo rider, TikTok is going way longer than 8 seconds.
To catch anyone up that may not be privy to the “TikTok Ban” underway in the United States government right now, the U.S. is attempting to force the owner of TikTok, ByteDance, to sell the app to a U.S. owner. As of April 24, they’ve successfully passed the bill; now on to President Biden’s desk. Considering many social media platforms have been subject to manipulation by Chinese influence programs, the United States government is doing what it can to address possible national safety concerns. But the ban is not about when, it’s IF.
ByteDance has made it very clear that they will not be selling the app, and obviously the U.S. does not want to hear that. TikTok users thought they’d have just hours before they’d be removed from the app, but everyone knows the U.S. government moves way slower than that. The Chinese-owned entity now has 270 days to find a U.S. owner before they take action to remove it from the country altogether. This is not great news for those who have created a life and a living off the app. Small businesses, moms, creators, and so many others have used the power of this 1 billion person network to grow and transform their lives.
TikTok has recently put out a $2.1 million ad buy to be shown in five states, hoping to aid in keeping TikTok in the United States. If the owner refuses to sell, which seems to be the case for now, users in the U.S. could see the app taken away as early as January 2025. Although it’s been passed and it’s likely that President Biden signs the bill into action, TikTok’s current owners plan to see the U.S. government in court.; they will not go down without a fight.
The U.S. government isn’t the only ones TikTok has a problem with right now, either. Universal Music Group has removed their music from the platform due to low negotiation offers for licensing by TikTok. The social media platform knows their place in the music space, and for what it’s worth, they’re right in assuming they have the upper-hand in this debate. 75% of the app’s users find new artists through TikTok clips alone! Many users have noticed a lot of their videos muted because of UMG’s songs being removed altogether from the platform, but that doesn’t stop them from finding something new. Taylor Swift is the only current UMG artist with a few songs on the platform, due to the release of her new album. Even then, she has rights to her songs, making this possible.
Will we see a resolution for any of these issues soon? There’s no way to tell. For the time being, we’re still able to post content and harness the power for growth. TikTok has even gone as far as to announce expanded ad verification partnership and new brand safety controls. They have no worries right now about where they’re headed, and they want to make sure as long as people can advertise, they continue upgrading their platform to fit everyone’s unique needs. Using their Ad Manager with these new updates will allow users to exclude their ads from certain categories to ensure their product is getting in front of the right audiences. They’ve created Vertical Sensitivity to allow for brands to select their category, and keep it in line with that audience. TikTok says “For example, a travel brand that generally prefers content about nature, may not want to appear close to content about volcanos or floods. Or a financial brand could avoid content depicting potentially novice financial advice or strategies from a beginner sharing their opinion.”
This is a platform worthy of doing business on, even if it is as simple as organic content. As a marketing agency, you have to understand where the people are, and they’re there; for now. United States government – 1, TikTok – 1; we’re on to a tie-breaker.