TikTok Ban: Effects on Individuals and Society in the Absence of the App

Blog Post | 113 KY. L. J. ONLINE | February 6, 2025

TikTok Ban: Effects on individuals and society in the absence of the app

By: Grace Denton, Staff Editor, Vol. 113 

 In 2017, the global sensation called TikTok entered the market. [1] Now, eight years later, its place in the market and accessibility to millions of Americans is uncertain. In April of 2024, a bill was signed by former President Biden calling for TikTok’s parent company to divest or the app would be shut down.[2] After a year of debates, litigation, and uncertainty the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law banning TikTok. [3] On January 18, 2025, millions of users were prevented from accessing the app as the “federal ban was set to take effect.”[4] However, just a day later TikTok was restored after parent company, ByteDance, thanked President Trump for “providing the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties (for) providing TikTok to over 170 million Americans and allowing over 7 million small businesses to thrive.”[5] In the wake of uncertainty for the app’s future, effects of the app’s absence are already being discussed. From businesses to real estate and even individuals’ mental health, the disappearance of TikTok could mean serious trouble.

With the looming fear of TikTok’s absence, small businesses are facing the potential of losing a critical tool that has helped transformed their business.[6] TikTok has provided these businesses a platform for engagement and outreach that traditional platforms have not provided.[7] Shira Jeczmien in her Forbes article gives the example of the “independent soap-maker” or “niche coffee roaster” and how these small businesses stand to face a serious loss without the app.[8]Losing TikTok would mean that these businesses would have to find other outlets that are most likely “more expensive and less effective” as a way to maintain their customer base. [9] With most small businesses, TikTok was their lifeline; once gone it could be the end of the road for some as they face a fight in an incredibly competitive market.[10]

Even a foundational market such as real estate stands to face challenges in the absence of TikTok.[11] TikTok has provided a space for those looking to buy, with opportunities to gain information, tour properties, and learn about real estate financing.[12] Without TikTok, homebuyers will be left without an easily accessible resource resulting in longer buying processes and more work for sellers.[13] Long term effects could be longer buying periods leading to a slower cycle of homebuying.[14]

At the core of TikTok is the millions of users who engage with the app daily by scrolling through videos or making their own. It is possible that with the potential loss of the app users could see short term effects on their mental health.[15] A loss of “social connection, a source of information and entertainment, a creative outlet, and a daily routine” is a small list of what users stand to lose should the app cease to exist.[16] A real loss will be present in the decreased connections with people and communities that individuals have found online.[17] Its absence could also lead to feelings of anxiety and depression without a plan for how to spend time beyond the app.[18]

While TikTok appears as just an app for people to enjoy entertaining videos, on its impact on various sectors including individuals’ daily lives and society are far beyond what anyone imagined. The focus has been on the benefits of a ban, but the consequences of its absence should not be overlooked.

[1] David Hamilton, How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat, Associated Press (Jan. 19, 2025, 8:16 AM), https://apnews.com/article/tiktok-timeline-ban-biden-india-d3219a32de913f8083612e71ecf1f428

[2] Id.

[3] Id.

[4] Id.

[5] David Shepardson, TikTok restores US service after Trump says “we have to save it”, Reuters (Jan. 20, 2025, 2:53 AM), https://www.reuters.com/technology/tiktok-goes-dark-us-users-trump-says-save-tiktok-2025-01-19/

[6] Shira Jeczmien, How A TikTok Ban Brings Economic And Cultural Costs, Forbes (Jan. 13, 2025, 6:22 AM), https://www.forbes.com/sites/shirajeczmien/2025/01/13/tiktok-on-the-brink-the-economic-and-cultural-cost-of-a-us-ban/.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Banning TikTok May Reshape American Neighborhoods, Corelogic (Jan. 9, 2025), https://www.corelogic.com/intelligence/why-is-tiktok-getting-banned/.

[12] Id.

[13] Id.

[14] Id.

[15] Maggie O’Neill, Hooked on TikTok? Here’s What the Impending US Ban Could Mean for Your Health, Health.com (Jan. 17, 2025), https://www.health.com/tiktok-us-ban-health-effects-8775491.

[16] What would a TikTok ban mean for kids and teens?, Deseret (April 29, 2024, 9:02 AM), https://www.deseret.com/family/2024/04/29/tiktok-ban-could-affect-kids-and-teens-mental-health/.

[17] O’Neill, supra note 15.

[18] Id.