How many use TikTok or any social media as a way to entertain? Or simply to grow your business, raise awareness. We all use social media as a way to be connected with our friends online or simply to pass some time, watching our favorite content creators. However, in recent years, we have observed the concern of the effects social media has on teens and children, on national security, sparking debates over its public availability in the United States.

Although this is the case, the government has issued the necessity to evaluate whether TikTok is threatening national security as lawmakers claim ByteDance hands over data of users over to the Chinese government.

In recent weeks, we have seen the debate concerning whether the United States should allow the app TikTok, home to over 1 billion users worldwide, to remain available to the public or be banned. 

Just recently, the House of Representatives passed a bill to ban TikTok if the owners didn’t sell the app over, according to AP News and further news sources. The bill passed with a vote of 352-65 and has made its way to the senate, where its future is unclear, as stated by AP News. Along with this statement, President Biden has commented that he would sign the bill if Congress passed the measure.

Now this should be taken with a grain of salt as nothing is settled in Congress as of today. But what implications can this have on communities and individuals who wish to be on the platform to share their business/products.

For one, growing entrepreneurs would be unsure where to turn if TikTok is banned in the United States. In the article by CNBC, Emily Swift, head of Darkslide Film lab, expressed how many of the orders she has received derived from the platform. She stated “TikTok has allowed my business to keep our doors open, and the ban threatens my ability to continue to do so.” Of course, this wouldn’t mean that influencers will have to shut doors completely as some have switched to using other platforms such as Facebook, etc to continue running their success in case of a ban. However, this would just be one of many consequences of a potential ban on TikTok.

But you may ask, how can we help? Well for starters, we can continue to share the content provided by these influencers to help bring awareness to them. Social media has become a necessity for many creators and even explore alternatives on other platforms, with other figures who have gained success. 

It’s important to understand the overall course of everything involving the possible ban of TikTok. While the concerns around TikTok’s data security are valid, a complete ban could disproportionately impact small businesses. 

Let’s continue to help small businesses and allow small content creators to shine on all platforms. A potential ban of TikTok doesn’t mean the end for small businesses as there are always alternatives and ways to protect your privacy from scammers, etc.