After the Ban: TikTok's Uncertain Future and the Resilience of Small Businesses in the Wake of its Shutdown
Written by: Nevena Doncheva
It's January 18, 10:30 p.m. TikTok just went dark. The app is not loading nor is the for you page working. After what everyone believed was a joke, the Supreme Court delivered its final decision on the ban in a 9-0 decision: TikTok is officially over.
At least, that is what everyone thought. Despite the conspiracy theories and the protective measures people took to rescue themselves from the TikTok ban in the United States, TikTok went dark on January 18th, 10:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. Some “Migrated” as refugees onto the Chinese social media app XiaoHongshu while others silently watched back and grieved the loss of their beloved tiktok via Instagram notes.
For millennials, Gen Zers, and the 177 million TikTok users in the United States it served as an open platform where businesses and communities can flourish. Tiktok prided and still prides itself in being free of censorship and political opinions, but now with the interest of the U.S. to purchase the app, is that still the case?
There was no secret in the fact that the skepticism and potential for a ban on TikTok began during the Trump administration in 2020. This sparked a three-year investigation into ByteDance and its data protection practices, leading us to where we are today. The status of TikTok remains uncertain.
The bill passed by Congress on April 24th, 2024, was signed by President Biden, initiating January 19th, 2025, as the death day for TikTok. Less than a month later, on May 7th, TikTok and ByteDance sued the United States, starting a long legal battle until August 2nd. Silence and mystery prevailed until December 6th, when the ban was upheld and further reiterated. Despite Trump’s plea for a SCOTUS pause on the ban, the Supreme Court held its hearing on January 10th, 2025, and the 9-0 decision came out just a week later on January 17th: TikTok was banned until January 19th rolled around.
Less than 24 hours after the ban, TikTok restored its platform as if only maintenance had occurred, midday Sunday, a day before the inauguration of Trump. Users were greeted with a welcome back message and a thank you to the upcoming president for the restoration of the app.
As all good things come to an end, Trump’s executive order will only serve as an extension of the tiktok ban for 75 days. The app remains unavailable in app stores but is usable to those who previously installed it.
This turn of events left many questioning, what is the future of the users on this app? Will tiktok remain a platform of free expression? Will tiktok remain a platform for small businesses to promote and grow?
The strange thing about tiktok is its ability to reach younger and more diverse audiences, which greatly differs from other platforms that struggle to gain any type of traction. Small businesses hoping to flourish elsewhere often flock to the app due to its open algorithm, which creates a personalized feed and generates content to its users that in turn, opens opportunities for the success of virtually anyone. Cafeemporos, a Tiktok user shares his story with the ban, “The most surprising aspect of Tiktok for me is the immense reach and exposure a small business can achieve with just one video.”
Tiktok is more than just an entertainment platform – It fuels significant economic growth for the United States. Not only does it support hundreds of U.S jobs but it also delivers a competitive sphere for aspiring entrepreneurs and developing businesses.
To small businesses, the blackout served as a stark reminder about the fragility of a secure platform to promote and market services. Mainly hitting the brand visibility for many who relied on tiktok for income.
Given this, the tiktok economic impact report states that “Tiktok drove 15 Billion Dollars in revenue for United States small businesses in 2023” Furthermore, “Over 7 million U.S businesses rely on tiktok for income.”
Although the Tiktok ban may at first encounter seem negative and gloomy, this provides the time for innovation and the rise of new developing entrepreneurs, after all, necessity is the mother of invention. The stepping stone of our future seems to be planted in the usage of AI in our daily lives, there is no doubt soon enough tiktok will reshape itself as something new.
So in the upcoming months, there will be obstacles and challenges that will need to be overcome, but this period provides the opportunity for bright minds to develop apps and platforms that could recreate the same feel and sense of community that tiktok brought—byte-dance sells the app to an American company.
April 2nd is soon approaching and quietly creeping its way into our minds, and for now all we can do is theorize and hope for the future of our beloved app.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Nevena Docheva is a high school writer and aspiring journalist based in Chicago. Her work offers a unique perspective on the world around us, with a keen focus on fashion, culture, and lifestyle.
