The Chicago Journal

TikTok ban might be pushed back due to its popularity

TikTok: Over the past few years, the video-sharing app has drawn a lot of attention, and a ban looks inevitable.

Security problems have plagued TikTok consistently from the former President Donald Trump’s administration.

However, the business has endured the Trump term.

Since then, it has gained popularity, becoming the most downloaded app in the US between 2020 and 2022.

If the ban were to go into effect, it would have an effect on numerous business owners who were successful on TikTok.

The future of TikTok

In 2020, there were over 100 million users of the video-sharing app.

Over the following years, TikTok’s influence on American culture, influencers’ lives, and business owners’ lives grew.

During that time, Republican governors had started to be cautious of the app.

They recently ruled that state employees are not allowed to install TikTok on devices that belong to the government.

While this was going on, an FCC panel with a Republican majority pressed Apple and Google to take more severe action against TikTok.

A bill to ban the app in the US was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio and two other US lawmakers.

A thorough investigation into TikTok’s and other social media platforms’ effects on younger users is currently ongoing as the political witch-hunt continues.

On whether the content on TikTok is appropriate for teenage viewers, there are differences of opinions.

Since the TikTok algorithm could lead to the uploading of potentially harmful content, worries concerning it are also frequently voiced.

Criticism

Washington has criticized TikTok because of its parent company’s connections to China.

The concerns grew after a Buzzfeed News report this year revealed that some US user data had been accessed from China.

According to a worker cited in the article, China could see everything.

While this was going on, TikTok acknowledged that some Chinese employees had access to user data from the US.

Read also: Caroline Ellison and SBF responsible for FTX collapse

Negotiations

Negotiations between the video-sharing app and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) date back a few years.

They have been working to reach a compromise that would meet national security concerns while still enabling the app to run.

However, there have been reports of negotiation delays.

According to national security experts, TikTok’s popularity just makes it more challenging to ban the program.

The effectiveness of a ban on TikTok has been questioned by some of its critics.

A bill written by Senator Josh Hawley forbids TikTok from being used on US government devices.

He said last week that he would be okay with a deal between TikTok and the US government that safeguards user data.

“But if they don’t do that then I think we’re going to have to look at more stringent measures,” said Hawley.

The community

Even as lawmakers have stepped up their calls for stricter rules on the app, TikTok users have been developing a sense of community.

The video-sharing app has become a source of income for many people.

Through TikTok, the following were made possible:

  • Culinary habits
  • Fashion and beauty trends
  • Reviving old music
  • Popularizing new songs

Additionally, US politicians have promoted their campaigns for the midterm elections using TikTok.

The renowned news organization Associated Press, which has been around for 176 years, just joined the app in an effort to reach new audiences.

“So many people, myself included, are always on TikTok,” said user Kahlil Greene.

“That’s where we get our entertainment from, our news from, our musical taste from, our social inside jokes we make with friends come from memes that started on TikTok.”

Green has amassed more than 580,000 followers as a result of his documentation of social and cultural issues, as the “Gen Z historian.”

The Biden administration ultimately took notice of his popularity and invited him to a White House press briefing about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“So much of our culture and lives are driven by TikTok,” Greene added.

“Now that it’s not just something you can rip away easily.”

Popularity

TikTok is unquestionably one of the most popular social networking services in the US.

The company, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, is dedicated to moving user data to Oracle’s cloud platform.

Significant modifications are also being made to isolate US user data from that of other business sectors.

Weeks earlier, TikTok declared it will restructure its US-focused legal, policy, and content moderation teams in collaboration with a special internal committee led by US-based authorities.

In response to the bill, a TikTok spokesperson said:

“It’s troubling that rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States.”

“We will continue to brief members of Congress on the plans that have been developed under the oversight of our country’s top national security agencies – plans that we are well underway in implementing – to further secure our platform in the United States.”

In addition, the spokesperson highlighted TikTok’s popularity by saying:

“TikTok is loved by millions of Americans who use the platform to learn, grow their businesses, and connect with creative content that brings them joy.”

Read also: The Federal Reserve influences 2022 stock market, Thursday market movement

Other notes

While other tech companies have been dismissing employees, TikTok has continued to hire staff, particularly American engineers.

Recent job listings suggest that the business may be attempting to build its own domestic warehouse network in an effort to overtake Amazon as the top online retailer.

TikTok’s enormous popularity poses issues for the federal government, according to Rick Sofield, a partner at Vinson & Elkins LLP who specializes in export restrictions, national security reviews, and economic penalties.

“I think their minds are made up that ByteDance owning is a national security concern,” said Sofield.

“The reason that we’ve been hung up is it’s too big to fail, and they’re trying to figure out a soft landing.”

“There’s a whole lot of things I think that would have to happen first, before there’s a ban.”

Reference:

TikTok might be too big to ban, no matter what lawmakers say

QuikTok Helps Brands, Influencers, and Record Artists Expand their Reach

Social media has dramatically transformed the business world. It has become one of the essential aspects of digital marketing, which provides incredible benefits that help reach potential consumers from all over the world. The business scene has infiltrated almost all of the social media platforms available today, like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok. This concept prompted QuikTok to jumpstart their platform.

QuikTok is the first and largest public influencer marketplace that allows artists, record labels, and brands to purchase promotions from influencers within minutes instantly. The new platform launched in March 2020, and since then, it has recruited over 700 or more influencers to join their program. QuikTok has also reached an audience of around 750 million people and is growing exponentially by the minute. Their promotion and brand listing start at $25.

One of the primary goals of QuikTok is to help new artists and musicians gain a more extensive range of following. This platform helps promote their new music by incorporating it on new TikTok videos. In this way, many people, especially young millennials, can listen to short snippets of the song, thereby gaining exposure. A study found that the advent of success for 63 out of 100 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 came from TikTok itself.

Another target audience of QuikTok is new and upcoming brands looking for influencers who can promote and advertise their products. This platform allows brands to find exciting and popular names in the influencer industry and offer them deals involving their products. This technique is one of the newest strategies in digital or online marketing. Conversely, influencers can also choose which brands they are willing to work with. This platform can screen and gain a complete profile of the brands’ aesthetics and performance. 

Moreover, influencers can also use this platform to expand their reach and gain a larger audience or following. QuikTok allows influencers to advance its growth by promoting the influencers’ content on other social media sites, primarily on TikTok. The platform makes campaigns that can boost the audience of the influencer. Big or small, the team behind QuikTok focuses on creating individualized campaigns that will garner the best results for each client. 

What separates this new platform from its other competitors is the team’s focus on transparency. All creators have complete control over what promotions they choose to accept or deny, as well as the fact that they set their prices themselves. QuikTok has no say on what should be the appropriate price listing for every transaction. When looking for influencers, the brands and company owners see precisely what their rates are. 

In contrast, when working with talent agencies, there is a lot of going back and forth between the agency and their clients over the pricing and overall expectations. The people behind QuikTok also noticed that more often than not, some talent agencies will ridiculously overcharge their brand partners by thousands of dollars. QuikTok is simply a platform that aims to bridge the gap between content creators and artists, record labels, and brands. 

Check out their official page for more information and details about how their platform works.