A TikTok video put Abbey Kowalec and her business on the map.

“I find that when someone reaches out to me, the first thing they say is, ‘Oh, I found you on TikTok,’” Kowalec said. “I would say 70 to 80% of my customer base comes from TikTok.”

What You Need To Know

  • In New York State alone, TikTok said the platform has contributed $1.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product through small-to-medium-sized businesses
  • ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese-owned parent company has one year to sell its stake to keep TikTok running in the U.S.
  • The Chinese government, which would need to approve the sale, has signaled opposition
  • TikTok said it’s going to fight the measure, meaning the law could be tied up in litigation for years

Kowalec is a Manhattan-based cookie artist. She said her first post garnered 3.1 million views for a business she started only a year ago. But a new bill passed in Washington could ban the platform she’s come to rely on.

To keep TikTok running in the U.S., the social media app’s Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, must sell its stake.

“It is a little scary knowing that this is something that could be banned, and something that could really affect my business,” Kowalec said.

In New York State alone, the platform has contributed $1.8 billion to the state’s gross domestic product through small-to-medium-sized businesses, according to TikTok.

In a survey, 77% of businesses across the state that use the platform said their business sold out of a product after promoting it on the app.

“I think it’s a situation where people’s gut feelings have overridden their senses,” NYU Tandon School of Engineering professor Justin Cappos said.

That’s because of lawmakers’ suspicions about the company’s ties to China and possible threats to national security through spying.

Cappos said user data from TikTok is likely safer than Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.

“If the country really wants to protect against the types of things they’re worried about on TikTok, then we need to pass meaningful legislation that provides user privacy and data privacy,” Cappos said.

A blackout of the platform in the U.S. isn’t immediate. ByteDance has one year to sell its stake, but the Chinese government, which would need to approve the sale, has signaled opposition.

“We need the exposure that TikTok gives us,” Katy Hansen, director of marketing and communications for Animal Care Centers of New York City, said.

Hansen said a ban could risk the lives of animals looking for forever homes because of an already overburdened system.

“We have a lot of people come in and say they want to meet an animal, ‘oh, I saw this dog on TikTok,’ or they sign up to volunteer because we’ve done a special little video,” Hansen said.

TikTok said it’s going to fight the measure, meaning the law could be tied up in litigation for years.