Here's Which Big Tech Rivals Would Benefit From A Crackdown On TikTok
© Courtesy of Washington ExaminerGoogle , Facebook and other big tech competitors stand to make billions if TikTok is banned nationwide.
TikTok is under pressure from the White House and Congress to withdraw from China and reduce national security threats from leaking US user data abroad.
If TikTok is completely taken down, its competitors could be in a dominant position.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Snap and YouTube have alternative places to host similar content, allowing them to cash in on the ad dollars left behind by TikTok.
"The impact of the Tik Tok ban should be positive on YouTube and Instagram," Emile L. Names, senior managing director at Moody's Investor Services, told the Washington Examiner . "Banning a competitor like TikTok should increase the revenue share of the overall digital advertising portfolio."
Ferrett said TikTok generated $11 billion in revenue, so banning the app would split revenue across all other platforms.
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TikTok has seen its user base grow exponentially over the past few years. According to TikTok CEO Shaw Zi Chu, the app has grown from 100 million US users in 2021 to 150 million in 2022. At least two-thirds of American teens use the app, according to an August Pew Research survey.
The platform was announced as the most popular web domain in 2021.
TikTok's short video model and algorithm-driven recommendations were quickly copied by its competitors. Both Instagram Reel and YouTube Pants started out as attempts to copy the TikTok format and bring users back to their platforms. Both platforms got off to a slow start, but they are slowly increasing views and engagement according to their latest quarterly reports.
These platforms will benefit by putting their main competitors out of business. At least one of TikTok's competitors has tried to paint the app badly in the public arena. Meta conservatives have funded "Targeted Victory" to promote some of the stories that threaten the platform about children in the United States.
Snap, Meta and Google did not respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.
Beleaguered TikTok has stepped up its lobbying efforts. It now has the fourth-largest federal lobbying spend of any Internet company, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan platform that tracks political spending.
However, TikTok's competitors have reason to fear regulatory pressure on the platform. Banning TikTok "would undermine [other platforms'] First Amendment protections as voice intermediaries because it sets a precedent that would make it easier for the US government to block them or restrict their operations in the future based on alleged privacy or security concerns," Caitlin said. Vogue, co-director of the Freedom Project. Phrases for the Washington Examiner . "National security": Fogos also said the ban would "create an excuse for authoritarian regimes who want to censor dissent in their countries to ban it." and undermines the credibility of the U.S. government when it opposes such sanctions."
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The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency body that reviews deals with international companies, has asked Chinese parent ByteDance to sell its stake in TikTok or risk sanctions.
Members of Congress have passed legislation to restrict or ban TikTok in the US. A bill of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) would ban the app entirely. Another member Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), would give the Commerce Department additional authority to analyze and determine whether business transactions involving foreign companies pose security risks.
TikTok CEO Zhou Zichu will appear before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday.
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Tags: tiktok, technology, news, big tech, advertising
Original author: Christopher Hutton
main position Big Tech's Competitors Are Here To Take Advantage Of TikTok's Crackdown