Beyond the Ban: Adapting TikTok Marketing in Uncertain Times

Knowing the power of TikTok as a marketing tool, we have been keeping our eye on the progress of a potential ban being passed. While the bill being signed into law earlier this week is concerning, we do not believe that this will have any impact on TikTok’s viability for marketing for the foreseeable future.?

The law gives ByteDance 9 months to sell TikTok, with a potential three month extension, so it will likely be a minimum of a year before there would be any real changes. Even then, ByteDance is already set to challenge the law in court, meaning that most likely “nothing would go into effect until 2026”, assuming it holds up to First Amendment scrutiny – and that is a big “if”. There is already precedent set with judges blocking efforts to ban TikTok both nationally and in the state of Montana, and it is likely that this case will eventually end up at the Supreme Court, making the timeframe for the potential ban even more extended.

Song Candy Media’s legal counsel offered the following insight:

“There was a ban in Montana that was blocked by a federal judge on First Amendment grounds. I think many see that as the test case for a federal ban, and it being unlikely to withstand First Amendment scrutiny. It’s an interesting case, because I think some would argue TikTok is the equivalent of the town square. You have the right to talk in the town square, but the alternate argument is that if the square is unsafe or a threat to US national security, can the government block your access to the square? This will be an important issue going forward for all social media platforms and the ongoing censorship debate.”

At this point, we are advising our clients that they do not need to make changes regarding plans for campaigns and marketing on TikTok. For many companies, it is still the main platform to engage and create a sense of community with their customers, and this will continue to be the case while this bill is litigated over the coming year(s).

As always, we advise our clients to think of TikTok as part of their larger marketing mix — finding ways to diversify their reach and messaging across social and digital platforms where their audience is most active.?