Preparing for a US TikTok Ban: Displaced Creators & Alternative Platforms
Published 16 January 2025
4 min read
As the US Supreme Court contemplates sanctioning a nationwide TikTok ban beginning January 19, American TikTokkers are bracing themselves for the fallout – bidding farewell to their followers and testing out alternative platforms. As the app prepares to go offline (and conjecture continues about potential reprieves or U-turns), we outline the possibilities in a redrawn US social media landscape.
- Migrating to Legacy US Platforms: American TikTokkers, especially those whose livelihood depends on the app, have encouraged their followers to move with them to Instagram and YouTube. As well as availing themselves of Reels’ and YouTube Shorts’ video features, influencers and small businesses that gained followings thanks to short-form TikToks are planning to use the opportunity to diversify their content, investing more time in long-form video and image posting.
This straightforward sidestep to familiar territory makes sense for brands, too: research predicts that about 50% of the marketing dollars currently spent on TikTok are likely to go to YouTube, Instagram or Facebook in the event of a ban (eMarketer, 2024). A shift to YouTube would also suit Gen Alphas, who rate the platform as their number one social media.
However, it’s uncertain whether these platforms can replicate TikTok’s enviable trend-producing pop-culture pre-eminence. And widespread concern about Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement about removing fact-checking features may well affect enthusiasm for Meta’s platforms.
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- Xiaohongshu: The (Counter-Intuitive) Protest Option: The desire for a quick fix has seen TikTok users swarm to Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media app (known in English as Little Red Book/RedNote). Downloads in the week preceding January 19 were up by 200%, pushing the platform to the top spot in the US free app charts.
Founded in 2013 by Shanghai-based Xingyin Information Technology, Xiaohongshu has 300 million active users, mostly across China and Taiwan. It was designed for e-commerce, more closely resembling Pinterest or Instagram than TikTok. Instead of a video feed, short-form clips sit in a grid alongside images, text posts and livestreaming. The app’s content is mostly in Chinese, but Xiaohongshu’s user base are welcoming new American users (with typical Gen Z dark humour, #TikTokRefugees now has 250 million views and 5.5 million comments), helping them navigate the app, learn common phrases and engage in cultural exchange.
Although the adoption of Xiaohongshu is being framed as a people-power riposte to the American politicians who pushed for the ban (and to Big Tech), the Chinese-owned app presents the same security concerns as TikTok (plus censorship issues), making it likely to be unviable as a long-term option for American audiences. (The same goes for Lemon8, TikTok owner ByteDance’s Xiaohongshu-like app that’s also seen a surge in downloads.)
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- Disruptor Players Court Creators: Other US-based platforms are competing to lure users with the promise of TikTok-like features alongside alternative benefits.
US newsletter subscription app Substack, which has seen a nearly 42% increase in users since 2023, has been experimenting with video features in recent years to help its users diversify their offering to subscribers. This week it made livestreaming available to all publishers on the app (and even launched a $25,000 prize for the best TikToks, encouraging people to join Substack).
Triller, an LA-headquartered short-form video app, has seen downloads skyrocket this week after launching SaveMyTikToks.com, a site where ban-anxious creators can save their TikTok videos and “seamlessly” migrate them to publish on Triller. Ad-free Texas-based TikTok clone Clapper has said it has gained 1.4m users in the past week.
Atlanta’s Fanbase, a video, photo, audio and stories social media platform created in 2018, has also hit the top 10 in app downloads this week. Promising to help creators monetise their content immediately via its own fund and user subscriptions, the start-up also allows users to invest in the platform.
Even non-social media platforms are entering the fray: at CES 2025, American media giant NBCUniversal announced plans to integrate a short-form vertical video feed into its streaming platform Peacock. For more, see CES 2025: Retail, Media & Gaming, publishing January 20.
Substack Livestreaming
Triller's savemytiktoks.com
 Substack Livestreaming |  Triller's savemytiktoks.com |
Fanbase
Clapper
 Fanbase |  Clapper |