In a major defeat for TikTok, the US Supreme court ruled that the US government had demonstrated legitimate national security concerns about a Chinese company owning TikTok Copyright AFP SAUL LOEB
In April 2025, the U.S. House passed legislation requiring TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations by November or face a nationwide ban. This move, dubbed by some lawmakers as the “Digital Sovereignty Act,” comes after months of intelligence briefings and escalating tensions over data privacy, election interference, and algorithmic influence.
Within six weeks, the aftershocks reshaped the creator economy and global brand strategy. According to the 2025 Social Media Benchmark Report, YouTube and Instagram have seen surges in creator uploads, ad spend, and platform engagement, especially in the U.S., EU, and AsiaPacific markets, places where TikTok’s dominance once seemed unshakeable.
From Washington to New Delhi: Governments Clamp Down
The U.S. is not alone in its scrutiny. India continues its full ban on TikTok since 2020, which remains one of the most significant blows to the app’s global market share.
Indonesia introduced a national mandate in March 2025 requiring all social commerce and creator marketplaces to localize data servers—putting TikTok Shop’s operations under review.
France and Germany launched coordinated inquiries into algorithmic transparency and underage data processing.
The UK’s Online Safety Act, enacted in January 2025, includes enforceable ageverification tools and holds platforms legally accountable for “harmful viral content”—with TikTok mentioned by name in recent parliamentary hearings.
Turkey, in April, briefly throttled TikTok’s bandwidth during the country’s election season, citing “electoral disinformation risks,” while Meta and YouTube remained untouched.
Outcome
A negative effect on TikTok’s growth and a redirection of creator and advertiser resources to more stable platforms.
Creator Exodus: From FYP to FutureProofing
In June 2025, Views4You’s report shows a 19% increase in new YouTube channels launched by U.S.based influencers previously known for TikTok content. YouTube Shorts—once mocked as a latetotheparty clone—now commands over 75 billion views per day, with monetization programs offering consistent payouts many creators say they never saw on TikTok.
Instagram has also benefited. The Views4You report notes that Reels engagement in North America rose 23% quarteroverquarter following the U.S. TikTok vote. Instagram’s Creator Marketplace saw a record number of brandinfluencer matchings in May, particularly from fashion, fitness, and wellness sectors that once favored TikTok.
Brands Shift Budgets — and Narratives
The benchmark report shows a 29% decline in brandsponsored campaigns on TikTok in the U.S. between March and June 2025. In contrast, YouTube and Instagram each saw doubledigit growth in branded content deals, with Instagram leading in “launch campaigns” and
For example, Nike shifted its “Back to School 2025” campaign to YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels exclusively, after running similar campaigns on TikTok in previous years.
Sephora paused all TikTok campaigns in May and announced a “brand safetyfirst” pivot to YouTube creators.
In addition, Sony Music struck a deal with Meta to promote new artist debuts on Instagram Reels over TikTok, citing “platform uncertainty.”
European approach
In the European Parliament, digital regulators proposed a “Media Source Labelling” framework aimed at tagging statelinked content—TikTok, due to its opaque algorithm and Chinese ownership, is considered a primary target. Overall, politicians continues to use the platform in a very hypothetical way and reshaping the political engagement.
