TikTok Can Be Banned in The U.S. – What Does This Mean for Advertisers?

The digital world is buzzing as TikTok, one of the most popular apps in the U.S., faces the possibility of a nationwide ban. Project Liberty, a non-profit initiative to create a new internet infrastructure, made a formal offer to ByteDance to buy the U.S. assets of TikTok. Moreover, Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal both reported that Chinese officials are considering selling TikTok to Elon Musk, but ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, insists a sale is unlikely to happen.

For advertisers, this raises pressing questions: What’s driving the push for a ban? And how might it impact businesses that rely on the platform for marketing and outreach?

Why could TikTok be banned?

The potential ban of TikTok has sparked widespread debate, primarily fueled by concerns that TikTok may be sharing American data with the Chinese government.

As with other major social platforms, TikTok collects extensive user data to fuel its powerful content recommendation algorithm. However, questions about the extent of this data collection and how it might be accessed or used have drawn intense scrutiny.

It’s not just the U.S. that has raised concerns. Governments around the world are cautious about TikTok’s data practices. India’s 2020 TikTok ban serves as a striking precedent – once wildly popular, the app was outlawed, changing the digital landscape overnight. In 2023, both the British government and the European Commission banned TikTok on employee devices due to security concerns. The BBC followed suit, instructing staff to remove the app from company phones. In the U.S., fear escalated further when President Joe Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to divest from the platform or face a ban. The move was justified on national security grounds, pointing to the threat of foreign governments tapping into TikTok’s data.

If TikTok is banned in the U.S., how would it affect users and advertisers?

Once the ban goes into effect, it will be illegal to distribute the app in the U.S. While you’d still have access to TikTok if it’s already on your device, updates would no longer be available, eventually making the app unusable. Plus, the TikTok website could become inaccessible through U.S.-based hosting services too.

For advertisers, this means losing a highly engaged platform to reach their target audiences. TikTok ads would no longer run, and any ongoing campaigns would be abruptly halted, requiring businesses to pivot to alternative marketing channels.

What’s the best TikTok alternative for advertisers?

The two TOP social media platforms are Facebook and Instagram – owned by Meta. While Facebook and Instagram may not have the same viral video-driven culture as TikTok, their established user bases and sophisticated advertising tools make them the best alternatives for advertisers navigating the potential ban of TikTok.

Facebook has long been the go-to platform for digital advertisers because wherever you look, wherever you go, everybody’s on Facebook. With an incredible number of 285 million active users in North America, Facebook is the most popular social networking platform in the region. 

Instagram, with its heavy focus on visual content and influencer partnerships, has become increasingly popular, especially among younger audiences. With 169.65 million users as of 2024, the U.S. had the second-highest market in Instagram’s global audience.

Both platforms offer highly effective ad targeting capabilities, leveraging Meta’s vast data insights to allow advertisers to hyper-target their ideal audiences.

Facebook and Instagram also provide a variety of ad formats, from traditional feed ads to Stories and Reels, so you can enjoy high flexibility in how your brand engages with its audience. Instagram, in particular, shares many similarities with TikTok in terms of visual storytelling and short-form content, so it’s a natural replacement for businesses looking to capture attention in a similar way.

Wrap Up

If TikTok gets banned, you’ll need to turn to other platforms for your advertising. Facebook and Instagram are your best options, with massive user bases and powerful targeting tools to help you reach your audience. These platforms offer plenty of ways for you to engage with your audience and advertise to them with the highest ROI. Adapting quickly will be essential as the digital landscape evolves.

Adrienn Herendi

Adrienn is a Content Strategist at Boostpoint, leveraging her extensive experience in writing for the recruitment industry. With her passion for crafting unique, engaging and informative content, she is on a mission to build a community where Talent Acquisition teams thrive and succeed.

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