TikTok Puts Its Money Where Its Mouth Is As the Threat of a Ban Draws Near

TikTok is still here, but it won't be long if U.S. lawmakers have their way. In March, a bill passed in the House of Representatives that could ban TikTok. President Biden said he'd be signing the bill into law if it passes in the Senate. TikTok might be a little nervous because the bill also has bipartisan support, passing the House with a 362-65 vote.


In the meantime, TikTok is dog-paddling to stay afloat, pulling out all the stops to plead its case by releasing an economic impact report by an economics forecasting group, Oxford Economics, that measured small business activity, along with ad spend, ROI, averaged census data, and other goodies to come to the conclusions presented in the report.

The ByteDance-owned app released this well-timed report on Thursday, bragging about how they generated $14.7 billion for small- to mid-size businesses last year and another $24.2 billion in total economic activity through small business use of TikTok. Furthermore, the platform says over 7 million U.S. businesses depend on TikTok and that 224,000 jobs were supported by small business activity in 2023, with 98,000 jobs supported directly within SMBs on TikTok.

And to rub a little salt in the wound, the report indicated that $5.3 billion in tax revenue was generated last year through small business activity on the platform.

If you read between the lines, TikTok is pretty much saying the U.S. government's actions are an attack on the nation's economy, and they may not be too far off. Many folks depend on the social media platform to earn a living.

Let's face it, the "economic impact" argument is a slick move and maybe the best move TikTok has. Remember when Trump tried to ban the app in 2020? TikTok got a judge to block Trump's bid for blockage by saying it would "affect professional opportunities, like brand sponsorships, and ability to make an income."

Some folks are okay with the move (as long as it's not happening to them). Meta, for instance, is gearing up for a world without TikTok. On Wednesday, Facebook pushed an update to support a shiny new video player across its social networks, planning to default to TikTok's vertical format while recommending Reels, long-form, and Live videos.

Of course, TikTok isn't just relying on economic reports. They've been rallying the troops and encouraging (begging) their users with in-app messages to call Congress to protest a ban. If everything else fails, make a lot of noise, right?

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