As TikTok is banned many content creators and users in the U.S. will be looking for new platforms. Instagram and YouTube have already developed strategies to capitalize on this situation. Since YouTube’s Shorts and Instagram’s Reels offer similar short-form video sharing both platforms have seen a surge in popularity as alternatives to TikTok When TikTok is banned in any country the number of users on these features tends to grow rapidly.
Meta (Instagram’s parent company) and Google (YouTube’s parent company) have directed their teams to leverage this opportunity to bring TikTok users to their platforms. This creates a major opening for these companies to capture the attention of TikTok’s displaced users.
Meanwhile newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump will be sworn in on Sunday, and TikTok’s CEO Shou Zi Chew has been invited to attend the inauguration in Washington D.C. This has led to speculation that TikTok may try to negotiate with the Trump administration to lift the ban. In light of this TikTok is hopeful that its operations may resume in the U.S. soon.
TikTok has expressed in a statement that they are optimistic about finding a resolution for reinstating their services in the U.S. as they have been given indications that President Trump may work with them toward a solution.