TikTok clash: Beauty brands fight back as US government prepares platform ban

17 May 2024 --- A group of TikTokers, including a skin care brand founder, is suing the US government over a new law that could ban the social media platform if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, does not sell its stakes within a year. Last week, TikTok also filed a petition in the US federal court to overturn the “unconstitutional” ban, claiming that “Congress has taken the unprecedented step of expressly singling out and banning TikTok.”

Last month, US President Joe Biden signed the National Security Package into law. However, tucked away in the legislation that contains a US$95 billion war aid package for Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine is a clause giving China-based ByteDance nine months to sell the app or risk a nationwide ban. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act aims to ban app stores and internet hosting services from supporting TikTok unless the platform divests from “foreign adversary” control.

Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell said, “Congress is not acting to punish ByteDance, TikTok or any other individual company. Congress is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage, surveillance, maligned operations and harming vulnerable Americans, our servicemen and women and our US government personnel.”

In the personal care and beauty industry, the platform is seen as an essential growth tool for small businesses but also for larger brands to interact with global consumers and foster loyalty.

Birthplace of beauty trends
TikTok boasts 170 million users in the US alone. The platform is widely seen as an essential place for brand marketing and promotion, with consumers looking to the app to find new beauty products with #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. According to the platform, 69% of Italian users are more likely to purchase a new beauty brand after seeing content on TikTok, suggesting that #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt is having a “real-world impact.”

TikTok research showed that the platform drives positive returns on ad spend and is the fastest-growing channel for discovery.Congress says it is acting to prevent foreign adversaries from conducting espionage.

“After making an online purchase, consumers were asked to identify the channel where they first heard about a product they bought online, and nearly 15% of product discoveries began on TikTok. Just a year ago [2022], that number was 4%, so TikTok’s influence is growing rapidly,” the social media platform shares.

TikTok finds 26% of users are motivated to learn more about a brand through tutorials, and 32% of users find new brands and products through reviews. The platform is also the “starting point for beauty trends ranging from #LatteMakeUp and #CherryLips to #FauxFreckles and #GlassSkin.”

“The beauty trend cycle doesn’t stop — it just matures, iterates and remixes itself,” notes the company, “This is why 74% of TikTok users agree that content on TikTok has transformed their beauty game.”

Driving beauty sales
Paul Tran, who founded a skin care brand with his wife on TikTok, says the platform “provided a way to the American Dream, and the bill is killing that American Dream, my American Dream. While other social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, failed to succeed, the brand succeeded on TikTok after going viral.”TikTok research shows that #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt is having a “real-world impact.”

Research shows that beauty influencers promoting cosmetics on TikTok significantly influence consumer purchases. The study suggests that the content, credibility and inventiveness of the beauty influencers are increasingly being considered when improving cosmetic product advertisements on TikTok.

Additionally, TikTok finds that one in four users purchases a beauty product they see on TikTok, with most purchases occurring spontaneously. To grow successfully, TikTok advises beauty brands to showcase, educate, recommend and review, capitalize on viral beauty trends, highlight celebrity looks and provide entertainment.

Thirty-six percent of small and medium-sized businesses claim that TikTok advertising has directly raised sales, according to platform research last year.

The group of TikTokers that sued the government, including Love & Pebble beauty brand owner, says: “[Users] rely on TikTok to express themselves, learn, advocate for causes, share opinions, create communities and even make a living. Although they come from different places, professions, walks of life and political persuasions, they are united in their view that TikTok provides them with a unique and irreplaceable means to express themselves and form community.” TikTok claims to be the starting point for beauty trends.

Worries based on speculation?
TikTok asserts that the government has not provided evidence of threats to national security. The platform believes the accusations are based on “speculative and analytically flawed concerns.” It says it invests billions of dollars to keep US data safe and the platform “free from outside influence and manipulation.”

The group of TikTokers points out that the government previously attempted and failed to convince Congress that a ban is required to safeguard the privacy of Americans’ data. According to two federal district courts, these worries are insufficient justification for a prohibition.

Additionally, they claim a violation of the First Amendment is an “extraordinary restraint on speech.”

Legislators who supported the ban argued that TikTok “manipulates” American minds and spreads “propaganda” that aims to “undermine our love for liberty by using our country’s free marketplace.” 

In response, TikTok CEO Shou Chew highlighted the irony that the ban threatens the free exchange of ideas and the nation’s founding ideals instead.

By Venya Patel