Originally posted on Adweek By Paul Hiebert Friday 4/4/25

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Despite several companies vying to acquire TikTok’s U.S. business ahead of a potential ban, most Americans are indifferent to the outcome.

About two-thirds of the general public isn’t concerned about the short-form video app possibly shutting down in the United States. The remaining one-third are either very or somewhat concerned.

When posing the same question to a subset of the population who use TikTok each day, however, the response is inverted: 61% are concerned, while 39% are not.

These figures come from HarrisX, a Stagwell-owned market research and data analytics company, which surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. adults in early April.

As for what consumers believe should happen to TikTok, opinions are all over the place:

• 39% think TikTok should be allowed to continue operating in the U.S. without any changes.
• 34% think ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, should have to sell its U.S. business to another company to keep the app running in America.
• 27% think TikTok’s U.S. operation should be shut down regardless of who owns it.

“Public opinion is roughly split on what should happen to the platform,” said Dritan Nesho, CEO of HarrisX. “This represents both a threat and opportunity for the Trump administration to steer the outcome in the direction they best see fit.”

In terms of how U.S. adults view the app, feelings have changed since March 2024, when the House passed initially passed a bill forcing ByteDance to either sell TikTok’s U.S. business or face a nationwide ban.

Back then, a slight majority of Americans considered TikTok a mostly negative influence on users. Today, consumers who hold this viewpoint are in the minority.

Likewise, a similar shift has occurred on the topic of national security. While most people used to consider the platform a threat to the country, they’re now split on the issue.

Although the general public might be largely apathetic to TikTok’s fate, those who depend on the platform to generate income aren’t.

“Creators and brands who rely on TikTok remain on high alert,” said Jasmine Enberg, an analyst at market research firm eMarketer. “The uncertainty around the app’s future has accelerated shifts within the digital market and opened the door for competitors to move onto its turf.”

On this point, data shows TikTok’s U.S. CPMs have seen double-digit declines throughout its ban extension. Rates for Meta’s short-form video offerings on Facebook and Instagram, meanwhile, have moved in the opposite direction.

“Now is the time for influencers and creators to ensure their followers know which other platforms to connect with them on and start building additional direct lines of communication, such as newsletters and personal websites,” said Layla Revis, vp of social, content, and brand at Sprout Social, a social media analytics company. “We saw influencers take this approach with success and a lot of engagement in January.”

During the week following the initial ban, Jan. 19-25, U.S. creators published 17% more posts on TikTok compared to the week prior, according to figures from Billion Dollar Boy, a global creator agency. At the same time, they also posted 22% more on Instagram Reels and 23% more on YouTube Shorts, suggesting a desire to diversify how they reach their audiences.

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