US TikTok Ban Backfires: A Warning Signal for Australia's Social Media Plans

Just days before the US TikTok ban kicks in, we're watching something amzing unfold. Literally overnight, two new apps - RedNote (owned by Xingyin Information Technology) and Lemon8 (owned by ByteDance) have skyrocketed to #1 and #2 on the App Store. Talk about having a backup plan ready to roll.

What's amazing is that TikTokers aren't even breaking a sweat. They're moving their entire accounts over with just one click. Same content, new home, zero drama. I've been in and out of TikTok today observing this and it's like watching a mass migration in real-time, but make it digital. And it's not just teens, major creators with millions of followers are actively directing their audiences to these new platforms, creating an unstoppable domino effect.

After 15 years of studying our online space, I can tell you one thing for sure: the internet is slippery. Ban one app? Two more pop up. Block those? Four more appear tomorrow. Some highly visible, others flying under the radar. We've seen this play out before, when Indonesia temporarily banned TikTok in 2018, users simply switched to VPNs and alternative apps. The platform was back within a week with some adjustments.

This is exactly why many experts have been shaking their heads at Australia's proposed social media ban. Not because we don't want to protect kids – that's exactly what we do want. But we understand the online world is too slippery and flexible for simple bans to work. Young users especially will always find a workaround, and sometimes that means ending up in sketchier, less regulated corners of the internet.

And just to make things more complicated, there's now talk of new financiers buying TikTok USA. Interestingly though, ByteDance won't sell their algorithm. Any new owner would need to create their own, which means a different TikTok experience, but the platform's obsessive nature isn't going anywhere.

What we actually need is a multi-layered approach: better social media literacy in schools, better age verification systems, and meaningful collaboration between platforms, parents, and regulators. Band-aid solutions like bans might make good global headlines for politics, but they don't make good policy.

The real question isn't whether these bans will work, we're already seeing they won't. The question is: how long will it take for policy makers to realise we need smarter, more nuanced solutions for the digital age?

I hope this helps to keep you up to date. Talk to your children about it- start the conversation!

Jo