TikTok's U.S. users prepare for life without the video
app
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[July 14, 2020] By
Sheila Dang and Arriana McLymore
(Reuters) - Ty Gibson, 20, of Greensboro,
North Carolina, brushed off speculation last week on TikTok that his
favorite video sharing platform was going to be banned.
By Thursday, users panicked after a glitch on the service erased video
views, a measure of video popularity. Suddenly, news reports of U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s threats to block Chinese-owned apps
like TikTok hit home as he watched other users flood the app with
goodbyes.
U.S. lawmakers have raised national security concerns over TikTok's
handling of user data, and said they were worried it would be required
to share data with the Chinese government.
“I thought it was the end,” Gibson said in an interview. “I didn’t even
have time to think things through.”
Gibson recorded his own farewell video for his 4.6 million fans, asking
them to follow him on YouTube and Facebook's Instagram.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Jul/14/images/ads/current/debbiesflora_lda_060820.png)
While TikTok’s fate in the United States is undecided, the news set off
a wave of worries among its devoted user base, who are coming up with
backup plans on other services. Some, like e-sports star Tyler Blevins,
known more widely as Ninja, who has 4 million followers on TikTok, told
his 6 million followers on Twitter that he already deleted TikTok from
his phone.
Loyalists are sitting tight for now. But they are distraught - sharing
videos of themselves crying (and dancing) with hashtags like #TikTokBan
which has 212 million views and #SaveTikTok, with 315 million views on
the app.
“If TikTok loses consumer trust, then they lose their relevance,” said
Alexander Patino, deputy director of the American Influencer Council, a
trade association for social media personalities who market products
online.
While there are real security questions about TikTok, the Trump
administration’s motives are primarily political, which make it not only
difficult to predict what the government will decide, but nearly
impossible to fight back if it proceeds with a ban, said Justin Sherman,
a nonresident fellow at think tank Atlantic Council, who focuses on
geopolitics and cybersecurity.
“I don’t think the company could do anything to placate them,” he said.
TikTok has said it has never given user data to the Chinese government,
and would not do so if asked, adding that the company has not been
asked.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Jul/14/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
SPONSORS ON HOLD
The effect of a ban on the advertising world would be minimal as
TikTok’s ad business is still nascent and brands would easily migrate to
other platforms, one executive at a major ad agency said.
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![](../images/071420PICS/busine29.jpg)
A 3-D printed figures are seen in front of displayed Tik Tok logo in
this picture illustration taken November 7, 2019. Picture taken
November 7, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Jul/14/images/ads/current/graue_20COLORADO_071320.png)
But corporate sponsorship of so-called influencers has already suffered. One
major consumer-goods brand put a five-figure deal with a TikTok influencer on
ice for at least two months, because it did not want to be associated with
negative news about the app, said Joe Gagliese, chief executive of influencer
marketing agency Viral Nation, declining to name the brand.
James Lamprey, a chef with 1.2 million TikTok followers, said the uncertainty
has caused a camera company to pause their deal with him for a sponsored TikTok
video, worth $1,000, until there was more clarity about the app’s fate.
Lamprey said he has started trying to get his TikTok fans to follow him on
Instagram. But if TikTok is banned, the impact to his earnings could be huge, he
said.
“For TikTok, these brands are contacting me left and right,” Lamprey said. “They
want to get in front of that audience.”
RIVALS CLOSING IN
Smaller rivals like Triller, Byte and Dubsmash have watched downloads of their
apps spike after Pompeo’s comments. Some are now proactively targeting TikTok
users.
Triller, which became known for its focus on hip-hop music, is reaching out to
top TikTok stars while it fields inbound interest from creators wanting to grow
their Triller accounts, said Ryan Kavanaugh, founder of Proxima Media, which
operates Triller.
Taylor Cassidy, a TikTok influencer with 1.7 million followers, said some TikTok
competitors, which she declined to name, have nudged her to build her presence
on those apps, guaranteeing her an immediate verified account, which often helps
influencers negotiate larger deals.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/Jul/14/images/ads/current/LPL_small%201.gif)
Daily app downloads in the United States for Byte, Dubsmash, Triller and Likee
have all jumped, according to data from Apptopia. In particular, Dubsmash more
than doubled to over 46,000 downloads on Thursday, while Byte skyrocketed to
over 28,000 downloads on Thursday, versus just 3,400 the day before.
Dylan Tate, an 18-year-old TikTok user from Greenville, South Carolina with 1.2
million followers, has been promoting reasons why users should move to Byte in
his recent TikTok videos, including that Byte gives 100% of ad revenue to its
creators.
“I’ve been commenting on people's TikToks to tell them to go to Byte. Now people
are doing it themselves,” he said.
(Reporting by Sheila Dang and Arriana McLymore, additional reporting by Echo
Wang; Editing by Kenneth Li and Nick Zieminski)
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