The prospect of a TikTok ban in the United States has local small business owners in Atlanta on edge. A recent community event hosted by TikTok at Sugar Baby Creamery became the ground zero for discussions on how the app has been instrumental to business growth and what a potential ban could mean for these entrepreneurs. The event featured TikTok's Head of Trust and Safety for the USDS, Suzy Loftus, and public policy manager, Kiley Smith, as well as a host of local TikTokers sharing their success stories.
However, these success stories were tinged with concern, as reports from Rough Draft Atlanta indicated that TikTok's uncertain future poses a looming threat to many livelihoods. The Truongs, a couple running a skincare company known as @loveandpebble on TikTok, voiced their distress. According to Paul Truong's remarks obtained by Rough Draft Atlanta, "90% of our sales come from TikTok Shop," he said. "It would be catastrophic." They aren't alone in this sentiment; many are concerned about the need to quickly diversify or face shutting down if a ban were to take effect.
The potential ban stems from data security concerns linked to TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance. Legislators worry about how personal user data might be used and the possible implications for national security. During the event, covered by Fox 5 Atlanta, Loftus highlighted the measures TikTok has undertaken to segregate U.S. user data, managed by Oracle, a Texas-based tech company, in an effort to placate these concerns. Yet, the effectiveness of these measures continues to be debated.
Glennda Baker, identified as the "Queen of Real Estate Video" on TikTok, underscored how irreplaceable the platform has been for businesses like hers. "When I hear our legislators say, oh well they can just do that somewhere else – yeah, that's bullsh*t," Baker told Rough Draft Atlanta. "You can't duplicate it like that." Her experience isn't isolated. TikTok's contribution to business growth was a common thread at the community event, where content creators shared how the platform increased their reach and sales manifold.
The House lawmakers have moved to attach a TikTok ban bill to critical funding legislation for Ukraine and Israel in hope of propelling it into law. If passed, TikTok would have 270 days to divest or face a ban. Small business owners like Peachtree Hearing's CEO Josh Wikoff and cake artist Robert Lucas expressed that losing TikTok wouldn't just mean losing revenue, it would mean severing ties with communities that have been painstakingly built. "For that to be something that could be taken away from them, that's kind of hurtful," Lucas said in an interview reported by Rough Draft Atlanta.
With this bill's movement gaining momentum, the future of TikTok, a beacon for over 7 million businesses, remains in jeopardy, leaving many entrepreneurs to wonder about their next step should their primary platform disappear.
