TikTok Ban: Small Business Owners Uncertain of Their Next Steps Amid Potential Showdown with U.S. Authorities

As TikTok faces a potential ban in the U.S., millions of users, including small business owners like Brandon Hurst, are left uncertain about their next steps. Hurst, who operates a plant delivery business and has seen his company grow threefold thanks to TikTok’s live features, is one of an estimated seven million small businesses on the platform.

TikTok claims to support over 224,000 American jobs and Hurst emphasizes that his business employs a team of eight people whose livelihoods would be at risk if the app is banned. The ban was recently signed into law as part of a foreign aid package, giving ByteDance, TikTok’s owner, a limited time frame to sell the platform to an American company. However, TikTok has stated its intention to challenge the ban through legal means, setting up a potential showdown with U.S. authorities.

Analysts like Jasmine Enberg from eMarketer suggest that platforms like Instagram Reels could potentially benefit from a TikTok ban but acknowledge that replicating TikTok’s unique culture and impact may be challenging. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the future of TikTok in the U.S., Hurst remains focused on growing his business and ensuring that his team’s livelihoods are protected. While he has a presence on other platforms such as Instagram, he admits that the live selling aspect offered by TikTok is difficult to replace and hasn’t fully considered what he would do if it were banned completely.