Hello and welcome to The News.  

As I’m sure you have heard already, the US government is trying to ban TikTok. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the goings on. 

Though many factors are at play, concerns over data privacy are the shouts we can hear the loudest. This issue was also raised by the Australian privacy watchdog a few months ago, and it’s clear the sentiment is shared by many from the international community. 

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Beneath these shouts can be heard the voices of commentators highlighting how removing TikTok would actually do very little to improve data privacy. So the jury is still out on that. This isn’t TikTok’s first rodeo though, with the app having already been banned in India back in 2020. 

Furthermore, as Ashley Gorski describes it, “banning TikTok [in America], directly or indirectly, would violate the First Amendment because it would stifle free expression and restrict the public’s access to a critical source of information.” So, it’s clear the bill will at least be met with some political resistance, however futile it may be. 

Another significant concern amongst the American ranks is that the Chinese government could potentially influence US politics because the CCP explicitly controls one of three TikTok board members in Beijing. Should the ban go ahead, Republicans will no doubt be reassured that only American politicians can attempt to illegally influence elections in the future.   

Regardless of the talk in Washington, ByteDance has made it abundantly clear they won’t be selling - going as far to consider suing. Ultimately, this means that the ban will likely go ahead if the US insists that ByteDance sell. 

This prompted the Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong to state that “the US should truly respect the principles of a market economy and fair competition” and “stop unjustly suppressing foreign companies”. 

As Bill Bishop said in his Sinocism newsletter, “One reason that PRC policymakers may say no to any divestment of TikTok is that TikTok is the first global internet platform from China.” He explains how “TikTok helps break [the] distribution stranglehold” that American owned businesses have on international discourse as a result. 

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That said, with many creators already battening down the hatches, it’s clear that plenty of Americans can already feel the winds of change. With the storm looming ever closer, it seems like a valuable tactic would be to begin diversifying from the app. Having all your eggs in one basket is never wise, especially with winds as strong as these approaching. 

Utilising multiple platforms would not only increase reach, it would also drastically improve engagement and conversion rate. By being more present in your customers lives, and providing it’s effective, you can be sure to see immense benefits in a variety of ways.

And lastly, in a no doubt completely unrelated series of events, the author of the ban Rep. Michael Mccaul has incrementally bought over $1 million of shares in Meta, before giving his uncompromising support for banning their largest competitor. A decision that several US policy makers have also coincidentally made. 

I’m sure we can all agree this is entirely unrelated to their political decision-making and that any inevitable fortune they make is merely a happy coincidence - and definitely, definitely not insider trading. 

Anyway, up next we have Andrew with the local weather. Back to you guys in the studio.

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Written by Conel Freeman Harrison - Content Marketing Executive