TikTok will be banned in the United States on Jan. 19, 2025, after a federal appeals court rejected its bid to overturn the ban that President Biden signed in April. The law states that if TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, doesn’t divest its ownership to non-Chinese companies, the app will be banned in the U.S.
With the ban date quickly approaching, it has the potential to ripple through the U.S. economy, particularly among the seven million small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that use the platform to generate revenue and grow their brands.
Oxford Economics released a report in March 2024 that reveals TikTok’s impacts on U.S. businesses. In 2023, the platform supported $24.2 billion in the U.S. GDP, including $15 billion in revenue generated by small businesses through organic reach and TikTok’s paid advertising. According to the report, TikTok has also facilitated 224,000 American jobs and contributed $5.3 billion in taxes.
In an article from TikTok Newsroom, Blake Chandlee, TikTok’s President of Global Business Solutions, expressed the importance of the platform. “Businesses across America depend on TikTok’s unique ability to help them reach otherwise unreachable customers, generate new revenue streams and drive awareness of their brands, products and services.”
According to Oxford Economics, the food and beverage, health and wellness and business service sectors particularly relied on TikTok, collectively contributing billions to the GDP.
Small business owners in diverse industries express that TikTok has transformed their businesses. Felicia Jackson, owner of CPR Wrap, stated that TikTok has driven over $300,000 in sales in just two days, saving her company. “It’s amazing,” she told TikTok Newsroom. “And best yet, two lives have been saved using our product because they saw it and bought it off TikTok.”
Similarly, Desiree Hill, a mobile mechanic, attributed her rapid business expansion – including leasing a 9,000-square-foot shop and hiring five employees – to her success on TikTok.
