TikTok is dealt a brutal legal blow: 14 states sued the company for harming minors, adding to its enormous pile of litigation and brand safety controversies.

What to look for in the TikTok ban court case: Oral arguments began yesterday in a battle that will determine TikTok’s future.

Declining political support and economic reliance on the platform suggest a ban may be unlikely, despite ongoing legal threats.

Influencers face uncertainty amid potential TikTok ban: Most creators have backup plans and are seeing increased engagement on other platforms, with Facebook and Instagram as top alternatives.

Western Europe isn’t the biggest market for TikTok in terms of user numbers. But its users are highly engaged and digitally savvy, so the platform should be an attractive proposition for marketers.

TikTok ramps up lobbying in bid to halt its US ban: Bloomberg reports heavy spending on lawyers and ad campaigns to sway public opinion.

Financial institutions that have relied on the platform to reach young consumers must come up with a Plan B—or face losing brand awareness.

For August, a digitally native direct-to-consumer brand of period care products, TikTok gives more than it takes down. For example, in January 2020, its launch video was immediately removed by the platform. “I still get videos taken down for what the app believes is graphic content,” said August co-founder Nadya Okamoto. Still, Okamoto credits TikTok for helping her cultivate a community of nearly 4.5 million followers across her personal and brand TikTok accounts, as well as allowing her to open a dialogue for authentic marketing.

“What will happen next?” That’s the big question marketers have following the signing of a potential TikTok ban into law, according to Liz Cole, chief social officer at VML. While marketers don’t know if parent company ByteDance will sell TikTok, shut the platform down in the US, or find a way to fend off the legislation in court, they can prepare now for what’s to come.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what happens now that the TikTok ban bill has been signed into law, whether AI is ready to significantly change search, the likelihood that Threads ads will be a hit, what social commerce's ceiling will be, the WNBA and the sports gender pay gap, and more. Tune into the discussion with analysts Jasmine Enberg, Minda Smiley, and Max Willens.

The TikTok ban is coming after all: President Biden signed a bill that gives ByteDance the rest of the year to find a buyer or withdraw from the US entirely.

Here’s what a TikTok-less America would look like for marketers, users, and creators, based on our latest forecasts.

On today's podcast episode (part 1), we discuss the details of what's going on with a potential TikTok ban, how grave of a threat TikTok might be, whether Americans actually want a ban, and the likelihood of TikTok getting banned this time around (out of 10). Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Minda Smiley and Max Willens.

While TikTok’s fate is in limbo, the sharks circle round: Surveys show strong support for Reels if the app is banned, while China says it doesn’t support a forced sale.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how young Gen Zers differ from older Gen Zers, the numbers that tell the story of teens' social media use, and how teens and parents approach screen time. "In Other News," we talk about whether 20-somethings saying "no" to TikTok is a big deal and whether a new push to ban TikTok is for real this time. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Jasmine Enberg and Paola Flores-Marquez.

The US isn’t the only country with serious talks of TikTok bans. Japan, the UK, Germany, and France are all countries with over 15 million TikTok users each that could be left with a lot of time on their hands if TikTok bans succeed.

Reels and Shorts are gaining users and adding ad options. They still lag TikTok in several key areas, but now is the time for video advertisers to give them another look.

Citing security concerns, the bill now goes to Gov. Greg Gianforte, who banned TikTok on state-owned devices. TikTok is pushing back, but other states could accelerate all-out bans.

If TikTok gets banned (and it’s a very big “if”), advertisers need to know where consumers will go. Instagram and YouTube would be likely beneficiaries, but OTT TV like Netflix could also see gains. Advertisers may even branch out to other categories entirely, like retail media. Here are five charts showing what could happen.