Creators and marketers in Europe and the UK are braced for impact with TikTok set to go dark in the US on Sunday.
It’s crunch time for TikTok users in the US,after the Supreme Court on Friday rejected the platform’s last ditch plea against a law forcing the Chinese social media platform to be sold or face an outrightban on January 19.
Passed by the US Congress in April2024, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act requires Bytedance to divest TikTok or face a ban by Sunday.
Having refused any suggestion to sell the app, TikTok said the app would “go dark” on Sunday, January 19.
In practice, the law prohibits appstores like those operated by Google and Apple from letting users download or update TikTok. It allows for massive fines against companies that do not comply with the law, but does not make it illegal for citizens to use TikTok.
In a statement following the Supreme Court ruling, TikTok said that unless the US government provided assurances to services providers that they would not be penalised for hosting the app, it would be forced to go dark on January 19.
The law gives the US government sweeping powers to ban TikTok and other non-US owned apps thatraise concern about the collection of US citizens’ data.
The US Justice Department has maintained that TikTokposes a threat to national security due to its vast access to the personal data of Americans, and because its Chinese ownership leaves the application open to manipulation by the Chinese government for propaganda purposes.
TikTok has some 170M users in theUS. The platform and its supporters argue that banning the app is a violation of the constitutional right to free speech.
President-elect Donald Trump, who is to be inaugurated on Monday, January 20, is considering an executive order to delay the implementation of the law while a deal isr eached in which TikTok is sold.
In panic, US creators are posting farewell videos, signing up for alternative social media applications like Red Note, or asking their audiences to follow them on alternative platforms like Instagram or Facebook. Similarly, international accounts like Australia’s @stickylollies who have found US audiences on TikTok are encouraging US audiences to follow them on alternative platforms.
Meanwhile, marketers are flooding LinkedIn with adviceon turning off TikTok advertising and mitigating the impact of the ban through diversificationon to platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels.
For creators and marketers in Europe and the UK,the situation is no less uncertain. More than it’s competitors YouTube orInstagram, TikTok’s proprietary algorithm has the ability to send content viralglobally, delivering a boon for creators, influencers and brands looking toreach international audiences.
“On TikTok, when a video goes viral, it goesviral across multiple territories. It impacts you on a global perspective,whereas Instagram is very much territory heavy. On TikTok, even if most offollowers are UK based, if the video goes viral, we see a lot of connectionbetween the US, UK and Europe, it's harder to control,” Current Body Senior Partnerships Manager Andra Dorolti explained to Kolsquare in an interview.
With TikTok to go dark in the US, European andUK brands and creators catering to global audiences, can expect see reduced engagement and conversions if as US audiences drop off.
Advertisers with a trans-atlantic focus may pull back on campaigns due to uncertainties, affecting TikTok’s ad revenue and potentially reallocating budgets to other platforms in Europe and the UK. Cross-border collaborations between creators could decline, impacting influencer marketing campaigns for brands running international messages.
The runaway success of TikTok Shop,which has reportedly generated $8bn in global sales to date, means that banning the app in the US alsowill have a significant economic impact.
The impact of the ban could bothignite curiosity around TikTok amongst UK and European, while also leading themto preemptively shift to other platforms.
“Retailers should also focus onbuilding first-party data and robust owned channels: email lists, websites andloyalty apps to cushion against disruptions,” managing director of UK influencer marketing agency Summer Mischa Joslin told Retail Week.
“All platforms have an element ofrisk, so no retailer should put all their eggs in one basket – blending your approach whilst building your own data is a chance to safeguard against risk for the long term.”
While the concept of TikTok being banned in theUK or Europe is highly unlikely, authorities in both regions are watching events in the US closely.
And unlike the US, both the UK and Europe have enactedrobust internet safety laws in recent years. Repeated violations of EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) could, for example, could lead to temporary suspension of a social media.
To date, the EUhas banned its European parliamentary officials from downloading TikTok on to official devices due to data security concerns similar to those playing out inthe US around the sell-or-ban law.
Looking ahead, TikTok can expectthe EU to continue to hold a blowtorch to its activities; the European Commission has already launched several investigations into TikTok’s compliance with the DSA.
These include whether TikTok breached the DSA in areas related to the protection of minors and advertising transparency and its adherence to DSA obligations concerning the assessment and mitigation of systemic risks linked to election integrity following allegationsof foreign interference during the Romanian Presidential elections in December2024.
Kolsquare is Europe’s leading Influencer Marketing platform, offering a data-driven solution that empowers brands to scale their KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing strategies through authentic partnerships with top creators.
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