Millions of users of the popular short-form video platform TikTok - which has launched careers, boosted small businesses and shaped pop culture trends - have been gripped with its endless-scrolling feed and algorithm serving exactly what they're interested in.
Launched in 2016 by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, the platform took off on a global scale when we were locked down in our homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. Everyone was lapping up dance challenges, make-up tutorials, recipes, and cleaning hacks that quickly went viral.
US President Joe Biden last year signed a bill imposing a decision on Bytedance to sell to an American owner or be banned from 19 January. It comes after lawmakers expressed concern about the possibility of user data being shared with the Chinese government and content manipulation.
Trump, whose term begins a day after a ban would start, has been vocal about wanting to save TikTok, despite initially supporting a ban when he was president in 2020.
He is considering enforcing an executive order which would put the ban on hold for 90 days to give Bytedance a chance to complete divesture if there's "a viable deal", Reuters reported.
What will it mean for New Zealand users and others around the world?
The “cash stuffing” TikTok trend, videos where people put cash in envelopes as a budgeting method, displayed on a smartphone in Washington, DC, on March 15, 2023. Photo: AFP / Olivier Douliery
If it goes through, the law means US app stores and cloud service providers cannot "distribute, maintain, or update" the application, which would eventually make it defunct, according to the app's lawyers.
In that case, new uploads from your favourite American influencers would no longer be possible. It's not yet clear what access and storage for US users would look like from 19 January. For example, if US users would only be able to view, not upload, from that date or if existing videos on US servers would continue to be available.
The company's filing to the US Supreme Court sheds more light on possible impacts. It says hundreds of service providers in the US help make the platform available to other users around the world - and so it could no longer do so starting Sunday if the ban is upheld.
Before news of Trump's last bid attempt, the company had reportedly planned shut down US operations itself from Sunday, 19 January and point affected users to the ban when they open the app, giving them an option to download all their data, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Massey University digital marketing senior lecturer Phoebe Fletcher says over the long-term, New Zealand content creators could lose traffic if advertisers pull away.
Massey University digital marketing senior lecturer Phoebe Fletcher. Photo: Supplied / Massey University
Director of the Auckland-based marketing strategy company, Dioscuri, Jeremy Logan, says they could also lose their brand appeal if they can't showcase their global reach.
"It's definitely going to limit the international reach of our influencers... millions of followers that they could have used to leverage sponsorships or brand deals are all going to pretty much vanish."
Meanwhile, Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden has eased fears about New Zealand following suit after the app was banned from Parliamentary devices in 2023.
"While we keep a keen eye on developments in other jurisdictions, our Government has no current plans to ban TikTok in New Zealand."
Why is everyone making such a big fuss about it?
US TikTok users make up a large portion of the platform - about 170 million. In its court filing last month, TikTok estimated one-third of those users would ditch the platform if the ban lasted a month.
TikTok estimates seven million US small businesses that use the app could lose US$1bn in revenue, and about 2 million creators would suffer US$300 million in lost earnings in one month, if it is banned, CNN reported.
The TikTok Creativity Program, a monetisation initiative which some influencers rely on as a source of income, was valued at US$2 billion in late 2023, according to the Times.
Entrepreneur and content creator Kennedy Anderson. Photo: Supplied
While New Zealand influencers don't get access to this fund, Kiwi entrepreneur and content creator Kennedy Anderson says TikTok is a powerful tool for small businesses to get the word out for almost little to no cost compared to other platforms.
"Defining a trend or setting up a business and all those kind of things that's now actually based on quality of content and authenticity … like you can actually run a multi-million-dollar business and have less than 10,000 followers on TikTok because you're just constantly turned up."
He says some of his viral videos helped him reach new customers in Europe.
"They're paying $50 in international shipping to get your product there, like that blows my mind. I couldn't convince anyone in New Zealand to do that … and that just shows real connection and excitement behind your brand."
NZ-based American gynaecologist and content creator Danielle Jones has 1.2 million TikTok followers. She agrees it will be scary for the small businesses who have thrived on the platform and full-time content creators who found their audience there.
Fletcher says the app has become a place for younger audiences to consume important information they would otherwise miss. Three quarters of New Zealand users are under the age of 35.
Can't people just use a VPN or move to another platform?
RedNote or Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) as seen on a mobile phone app store. Photo: Jaap Arriens / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP
Jones and Otago University communication and digital media lecturer Olivier Jutel say US influencers who have spent years mastering the algorithm of TikTok and building a following will now have to adjust their videos to master a completely different algorithm.
"We make a lot of money and we've only got just over 1000 followers on one of our business pages and it still sells so much, because that's what TikTok does. It kind of takes away the elitism of someone that has a million followers versus not. It kind of puts us all on an even playing field," Anderson explains.
"It hurts, it rips my heart out … It's literally like going to someone that's worked on their career path for 10 years and then dissolving that entire role and saying 'start to learn again' like it is so much work."
Another app called RedNote or Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book), owned by Xingin Information Technology, surged to the top of Apple store's US chart this week, but whether it would survive the potential scrutiny of US lawmakers is another matter.
Otago University communication and digital media lecturer Olivier Jutel. Photo: Supplied / Otago University
Jutel suggests the choice of a Chinese app appears to be a deliberate response.
"I think Gen Z is sort of smart. They're like, yeah, we understand what's happening, fine ... let's play a game of whack-a-mole."
Most of RedNote's content is in Mandarin to match its primarily Chinese audience. Massey University's Phoebe Fletcher believes people would find a switch to Instagram or Facebook easier.
"Part of digital advertising is that the greater the barriers there are to access the less effort everybody puts in."
The option of using VPN, which encrypts a user's location, has also been touted. But Dioscuri's Jeremy Logan says that could prove to be tricky and costly for everyday use.
