Is the US banning TikTok and could the UK be next?
Written by Alex Watt, Lead Strategist
The US House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday to crack down on TikTok and move towards a potential ban of the social app. The bill would require TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the social media platform or face a total ban in the United States.
The vote was a landslide, with 352 Congress members voting in favour vs 65 against, after being fast-tracked to a vote. TikTok owner ByteDance now has six months (165 days) to sell or app stores like the Apple App store and Google Play could be legally barred from hosting TikTok.
The US concern is that TikTok owner ByteDance could share user data, such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers, with China's government – even though TikTok has said this has and would never happen.
WILL A BAN ACTUALLY HAPPEN?
The bill still has to go through the Senate where it’s less likely to pass, with some Senate Democrats publicly opposed to the bill, citing freedom of speech concerns.
TikTok previously faced an attempted ban by Donald Trump in 2020 and a state-level ban passed in Montana in 2023 – but courts blocked both of those bans on grounds of first amendment violations. Trump has since reversed his stance and now opposes a ban on TikTok.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the goal is ending Chinese ownership - not banning TikTok entirely. However, it’s unclear if China would approve any sale or if it could go ahead within a timeframe of just six months.
It’s also unclear who would actually buy it - although all the big social media companies are likely to be interested.
COULD THE SAME THING HAPPEN IN THE UK?
Inevitably, there will be questions about whether the UK could follow suit.
In short; it remains unlikely. Any moves to ban the app in the US continue to be politically motivated and there are still a number of steps and hearings to go until any outright ban on the app would be written into law – and the same would be true in the UK.
TikTok has not faced a nationwide ban in the UK, but in March 2023 it was banned from government devices. However, it has been repeatedly stressed by UK officials that the government is not advising people against using TikTok in a personal capacity.
As with any potential US ban, it is worth noting that users may still be able to access the app using virtual private networks (VPNs) that bypass restrictions or changing the region of the app store on their device.
It remains very unlikely that there will be a nationwide ban of TikTok in this country – not least because of the number of UK employees working for the company – but this is why it remains so important for marketers to ensure brands and clients have a diverse channel strategy and continue to explore new platform opportunities, where relevant.
