Should the Caribbean be worried about possible US ban on TikTok?

 

Content creators in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean are being told to brace for the possible US ban on social media platform TikTok.

 

Keron Rose, a digital strategist from Trinidad and Tobago, says based on the current impact and reach of the platform, a ban could be a big blow. 

 

"The United States is the owners of the iOS application store and also the Android store. So once they ban and all the other countries are lining up to ban TikTok as well, it's gonna be a domino effect, where we are gonna feel it because again, the majority of the businesses across the world are not going to be there, users are going to drop, and then what is the point of the application when it can only be used in Asia? The business community that has been leveraging TikTok for the last how many years and investing millions of dollars and building their brand on TikTok now are not gonna have that channel," he surmised. 

 

However, Digital Literacy Specialist Kadia Francis believes unless there is a ban from the US based Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, a ban may not have a major impact locally. 

 

"We're actively seeking out relationships to help build out our tech sector, advance our tech sector. So in late October 2022, when Huawei opened their headquarters in Jamaica, the Prime Minister was there and he was praising Huawei for their contribution to digital transformation in Jamaica and for that $300 million investment. Huawei is active in the Caribbean market, so a ban on Huawei in the US didn't affect us in the Caribbean and in Jamaica. Similarly, I don't think a ban on TikTok in the US will necessarily affect us," she reasoned. 

 

US President Joe Biden has signed into law, a bill which seeks to ban the Chinese based TikTok, owned by ByteDance.

 

The company has nine months to sell the platform or face a ban in the US, where it has more than 170 million users.

 

TikTok has said will will be appealing the decision in court.