TikTok ban looms for Iowa small business owners

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – American politicians have raised alarms about TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform, since at least 2019, but now a ban is finally on the horizon.

That ban could affect Iowans who use the app to run their businesses.

Maddix Stovie started her online business in 2020 while she was in college. She kept it going even when she graduated and got a job, a move that paid off later.

“I was laid off in May of 2023, and so I had the unique opportunity in between full-time jobs to work on my business full time,” she said.

Stovie once again has a full-time job and her business is a side hustle, although that term maybe doesn’t justice to her success.

“We’re on track of hitting six figures. I’m not sure if we’ll hit it this year, but we are on track to hit that 6 figure mark next year,” said Stovie.

Stovie credits TikTok with almost all of that growth.

“Over 95% of my sales come through TikTok.”

But now, Stovie is looking into alternatives because the future is uncertain.

A TikTok ban is set to go into effect on January 19. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance filed for an injunction on the ban, which the Supreme Court denied.

“Yes, it’s a valid concern. Is it a concern that warrants the action they’re taking? That’s a different discussion that can be had,” said Doug Jacobson, who holds the Sunil & Sujata Gaitonde Professorship in Cybersecurity at Iowa State University.

Jacobson said TikTok is like every other social platform: it collects data about users.

TV9 asked what value users’ TikTok data has for China.

“That’s the big question. The Chinese tend to play a—they play a very long game, unlike the Russians,” said Jacobson.

“So [the Chinese] play a very long game. Information is power. Data is power. And so we don’t know what they might use this data for.”

Reports indicate Russian actors used social media to meddle in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections. Jacobson said that concern is not limited to Russia.

“Concerns have been raised about, ‘Could they use these algorithms to manipulate the populace in certain directions?’”

Stovie said the ban puts her and other small business owners in a position of uncertainty, so she’s looking into other options. However, she also is not too worried.

“For me personally, I’m waiting ‘til January 19th to kind of see what happens. I’ll believe it when I see it,” she said.

President-Elect Trump’s inauguration is on Jan. 20. On the campaign trail he promised to “save” TikTok.

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