FRANKLIN, Wis. — With the TikTok ban possibly about to go into effect, some Wisconsin TikTok users believe it will be tough to replace what the platform offers.
Nick Christiansen owns Milweb1 in Franklin.
He has amassed more than two million followers on TikTok for his business.
“Basically, we sell a lot of online sales for vinyl banners, yard signs and we’ve really made a big connection with the online community by selling our vinyl banners,” Christiansen said.
Christiansen posts multiple videos a week on the platform for promotional purposes.
“It definitely has given us a lot of exposure organically that you really can’t duplicate anywhere else,” he said.
That’s why Christiansen believes losing the platform would be a huge loss for his business.
“If we would lose TikTok, you’re talking about 30% of the traffic that our company gets from TikTok alone,” Christiansen said. “We would have to basically find another 30% of organic traffic that is very expensive, you have to pay for.”
Michael Mirer is an assistant professor of communications at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is also an avid user of TikTok.
Mirer said he believes that banning the app in the U.S. stifles free speech — and that Congress’s justification for passing the law was not exactly true.
“For a lot of critics of the law, I would say the idea that national security was the reason I think rang hollow, because in fact the concern was not that China was collecting data, because China could get that data many other ways,” Mirer said.
Christiansen has already jumped to a different platform as a possible alternative.
“I always have to pivot, and since RedNote came out a couple days ago that people were actually joining it, I had to find out, so I joined it basically 48 hours ago,” said Christiansen.
The TikTok ban is set to go into effect on Jan. 19.
President Joe Biden said his administration will not enforce the ban, leaving that decision to the incoming Trump Administration.
Christiansen hopes President-elect Donald Trump’s administration will find a solution to keep TikTok going into the future.