Tiktok Ban And Beyond: How Can Creators Prepare Themselves Better?

TikTok, the most popular China-based app, has been facing repercussions worldwide. The ban has been imposed as the application puts users’ data at risk. Reports state that the app has poor handling of users’ data and hence would not be available anymore to access.

Despite these issues, it can’t be ignored that TikTok has a huge following all around the globe and is the source of income for millions of creators.

In this scenario where the app seems to be non-functional in the future, what does it mean for creators, and how their future looks like?

In this article, we will try to answer such questions, present to you the opinions of some TikTokers, and discuss how strict major countries are with the usage of this app.

Let’s find out- 

What Do The Statistics Say About Tiktok?

• More than 1 billion people use TikTok every month. The same numbers are more than 2 billion on Facebook, 2.2 billion on YouTube, and 1.4 billion on Instagram.
• In January 2021 alone, more than 60 million people downloaded TikTok. There are more than 5 million active business users in the United States.
• Among the U.S.-based TikTok users, 32.5% are of age 10 – 19, 29.5% are 20-29, 16.4% are 30-39, 13.9% are 40-49, and 7.1% are 50+.
• An average user spends about 95 minutes per day on TikTok. They open TikTok 8 times every day.
• More than 80% of people have created one video on TikTok.
• As per gender, 60% of TikTok users in the U.S. are female, and 40% are male.

The Effects Of TikTok Ban On Creators

• Millions of creators rely on TikTok for their followers and income. Banning TikTok would lead to a significant loss of followers and their generation of income source.

• Creators give months and even years to build a large fan following; they rely on the app to produce money through views and likes, merchandising, and more. For many creators, TikTok is their primary source of income as they do not rely on any other platform to make their creations.

• Many creators have even made it to the top and have millions of fans. These creators would find it super difficult to migrate to other platforms and even more difficult to build such a huge following from scratch.

• Unless the ban is lifted, creators are going to be mortified. They would have to opt for other premium video monetization platforms and continue creating content there, which might take years to produce the fan following and earnings.

The Current Scenario Of TikTok Getting Banned: As Per Different Countries

Let’s look at the current situation of TikTok bans in different major countries.

1. Afghanistan

Taliban leadership has decided to ban TikTok completely. The Government has taken the step while believing that this step would save its youth from getting misled.

2. Belgium

The Belgium Government has decided to ban Tik Tok for at least six months. Prime Minister Alexander de Croo wanted to save the privacy and information of the country’s users and took this step.

3. Denmark

In Denmark, Government employees won’t be able to access TikTok; the above step was taken on March 6.

4. United States

In the U.S. as well, the Tik Tok ban is more specifically implemented for Government employees. As a result, the Government has given orders to delete the application from every federal device within 30 days.

The effect of these orders can be seen in more than 50 U.S. states as Tik Tok is banned on their official devices.

5. Canada

In Canada, PM Justin Trudeau has stated that TikTok exposes information to risk in terms of privacy and security. Hence he has announced that the application will not be used on any Government devices.

6. United Kingdom

The U.K. has announced that it will block access to TikTok on all the devices on its network and primarily on Government devices. 

7. Australia

Due to security reasons, Australian government agencies would be blocking TikTok on all Government devices.

Sydney Morning Herald has produced reports stating that two federal departments have declared the employed not to use TikTok on their official phones.

8. New Zealand

New Zealand will also follow the lead, and the ban has already begun on all the devices connected via the parliament’s network.

9. Norway

Norway’s Justice Ministry has decided that employees would not install TikTok on their phones connected to the assembly’s systems in any way.

10. France

France on March 24 declared the ban of TikTok and other such applications on the phones of all public sector employees.

11. European Union

The European Parliament has implemented the same on their staff phone. This was first started on March 20, and they have banned the use of TikTok on all devices that are a part of the parliament.

12. Taiwan

Taiwan started blocking TikTok in December 2022 when the FBI warned about the possible risk to information and privacy. In Taiwan, TikTok and other such apps are banned from being used on any Government devices, including phones, tablets, and computers.

13. Indonesia

In Indonesia, the ban was first started in 2018 due to containing adult and pornographic content. However, the country lifted the ban once the app agreed not to present such content.

14. Pakistan

In Pakistan, the TikTok ban occurred many times and was lifted repeatedly. Every time TikTok was banned just for a short period.

15. India

In India, TikTok is completely banned. In 2020, the ban became nationwide, during which all Chinese apps were restricted due to privacy reasons. In January 2021, TikTok was prohibited in the country permanently.

What Steps Should Tiktokers Take?

In the current landscape, where there is no surety if the TikTok ban will be lifted, it is natural for creators to feel immense pressure. However, it is time that creators take the essential steps to save themselves in case things go south.

Here are some of the options-

➡️ Diversify Online Presence

The number one step that all creators should take, regardless of the platform they create on, is to diversify their online presence. Creators should create on more than one platform and use those platforms as their means to earn income.

Relying on a sole platform might be problematic in the future. Hence, instead of using only TikTok, creators should start using other platforms, too, such as GUDSHO, Instagram, YouTube, or others.

➡️ Diversify Income Streams

Besides using more than one platform, creators should create more than one income source too. For example, you should not always rely on advertisements to generate money. Creators should also include merchandising, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing to gain financial stability and feel more confident about building a secure income.

➡️ Reuse The Existing Videos

Creators should always focus on reusing their content other than finding new ideas for their upcoming videos. You can then share those videos on different platforms and build your presence without creating new content from scratch.

Final Thoughts

By risking users’ privacy, TikTok has gotten itself banned worldwide. Not only does the app lose its users, but the creators also suffer a massive loss. Shutting TikTok down dismisses creators’ income and fan following unless the litigation eases up.

However, regardless of the ban lifting up or the app getting shut down permanently, creators should make the wise decision to create their presence on other platforms.

Many well-known and new platforms welcome creators from all around the world and provide them with different ways to monetize their content. It is high time that creators consider these platforms and diversify their content and income sources.