Oracle, Mr. Beast, Donald Trump and TikTok: an unlikely combination of names central to the ongoing debate over TikTok’s future in the U.S.
Of course, they all relate to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a ban on Americans’ access to TikTok. So how are the rest of those words involved? Well, within the first few weeks of his second-term, President Trump declared he would delay the ban and restore TikTok access. In true Trump fashion, this goes against what he previously said during his first presidency when he advocated for a TikTok ban. However, the need for power and tension with China is still on-brand. The real surprise is that Oracle and Mr. Beast, among other businesses, are investigating what it means to purchase TikTok. Mr. Beast is a popular YouTuber with 352 million subscribers. Given his fanbase, I suppose looking into other social media platforms isn’t a real stretch; but Oracle is a huge business-to-business software company that hasn't invested in social media before.
How did this even come about? When SCOTUS ruled that the federal government could legally shut down TikTok in the U.S., it broke the internet. According to another NPR article, former President Biden signed a bill requiring TikTok to deviate from ByteDance, its parent company based in China, or get shut down in the U.S.
Even during the Supreme Court hearing Jan. 10, when TikTok argued the ban violates free speech for users, the justices brought up concerns about TikTok’s ties to China and implications for national security and Chinese government access. The court also found the app’s user data and collection methods questionable. And so, it was decided: Apple and Google removed TikTok from their U.S. app stores Jan. 19, restricting downloads and national access.
So really, this is a political and rights-based case. But when you add Trump’s involvement in postponing the ban, several companies rallying to purchase TikTok and consumer responses to a world without TikTok, it’s so much bigger.
What started as a security concern has become a cultural reset and business proposal.
Right before U.S. users lost temporary access to TikTok, I started seeing influencers reach out to their followers saying they would continue creating content but post it on other platforms and blogs. I’ve also had friends complain about the brief isolation, and they fear TikTok will go away in a few months.
As someone who doesn’t use TikTok, I can afford a wait-and-see approach, but I recognize for millions of users and businesses, this ban represents a significant disruption.
If the ban goes through, many small businesses and brands will lose another channel to engage with customers, which would be costly. And still, conversations about national security will persist, and it's unclear whether it will have a meaningful impact on the strained U.S.-China relationship. Competing social media apps like RedNote are likely to gain traction, but the ban sets a concerning precedent for restricting foreign platforms, which could stifle cross-cultural exchanges further.
Paul Palmer Jr. II, a senior lecturer in marketing at the Kelley School of Business, approached the news about TikTok differently.
He found the ban very interesting because it impacts around 180 million people in the United States, and he thinks people will react one of two ways: They might feel a sense of loss for communication and connection with our world or realize they have been too reliant on TikTok in general.
He said Gen-Zers and Gen-Xers will have to get used to the channel and content loss, but it will probably be harder for Gen-Zers.
“I think for older people, it’s kind of like, well, there was life before TikTok and there is life after TikTok,” Palmer said. “For your generation, social media and the various platforms are indigenous to how you live your life and interact with the world.”
He noted that many people, particularly social-media influencers, will feel silenced by the ban.
“There is always another platform,” Palmer said. “I guess the fundamental question for me is how many of these platforms can you really have and actively manage?”
He conceded that in losing TikTok, marketers would lose some creativity, which would hurt brands and businesses because app algorithms are “hyper-local” and intentionally designed. This means businesses would reach less people.
“But marketers are storytellers, brand builders, connectors and communicators,” he said.
Professor Palmer believes these teams will have to change, but it’s not as grave a situation as anticipated.
All things considered, while I don’t know if TikTok is here to stay, we shouldn’t be wary of a world without it. We lived happy and informed lives before it entered the market, and we can continue to do so afterwards. Regardless of what side you’re on, the TikTok ban highlights the need to adapt — not just in how we consume media, but how businesses, creators and governments navigate the ever-changing digital landscape.
Meghana Rachamadugu (she/her) is a senior studying marketing and business analytics and pursuing a minor in French.
