Here are the winners and losers of TikTok’s U.S. shutdown drama

What was supposed to be a decisive chapter in this long-running saga has, true to form, delivered more confusion than clarity. Questions linger, answers remain scarce.

Still, this moment of limbo offers a chance to take stock. What better time to pause, catch a breath, and size up the winners and losers of this unfolding drama — at least as the story stands today. 

Winners

TikTok’s rival platforms
TikTok’s competitors are practically giddy with schadenfreude, watching on as the app lurches from one crisis to another. With its future dangling in uncertainty, they’re wooing advertisers with discounts, incentives and open arms, eager to capture those looking to hedge their bets. Each rival has its own grievance with TikTok — lost ad spend, dwindling attention — and now they’re seizing the moment to reclaim what they believe is right fully theirs.  

President Donald Trump
Calling Trump a winner of the TikTok ban might feel like a stretch — after all, he lit the match during his first term — but if there’s one thing Trump thrives on, its plot twists. And now, his stance appears to have mellowed. In fact, it’s been mellowing for a while, with the incoming president already hinting in the run up to his inauguration that he would find a way to keep the app going in the U.S. In fact, he reportedly invited TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to his inauguration, seated in a position of honor, according to The New York Times. 

So when Trump announced an extension on the law’s prohibitions, it wasn’t shocking — it was expected. One of TikTok’s fiercest critics turned into its last-minute savior. The entire situation perfectly underscores Trump’s flair for theatrics and drama, keeping the spotlight squarely on him.

Advertisers rely on TikTok
Marketers are breathing a sigh of relief now that TikTok has been granted a temporary reprieve in the U.S. by Trump. The platform has been both a cornerstone of their advertising strategies and a direct line into culture. Losing that platform, even temporary, would have meant scrambling to edit ad dollars and rethink campaign strategies — a costly and time consuming process.

Trump’s intervention lets those marketers continue using TikTok to reach its users, while also buying time to diversify and hedge their bets on other platforms. As it stands, the app remains a key player in the media landscape, and its temporary survival ensures marketers can keep riding the wave of influence it generates.

Creators who rely on TikTok
Like marketers, creators are relieved that TikTok has dodged the axe — at least for the moment — thanks to the incoming president’s extension. For many, the app isn’t just a platform. It’s the engine driving their careers, audience growth and brand deals. Losing it would have been a career-crushing blow, forcing creators to rebuild from scratch and leaving their loyal followers adrift. 

Now, they’ve got a lifeline. TikTok’s temporary survival means creators can keep turning trends into paychecks, ideas into influence and likes into lifestyle. It also gives them a crucial window to strategize: testing the waters on rival platforms without the chaos of a forced mass exodus. For creators, the lesson is clear: stay nimble, stay ready and don’t put all your eggs in one algorithm.

The real winners in this saga might be the marketers and creators who never built their media strategies around TikTok. They’re immune to the chaos, said Josh Rosen, president of Hotspex Media. 

“Current buyers will also realize they didn’t really get much data transparency and that their [TikTok] audience was fickle to begin with,” he added. “Their redistributed spend to other platforms will bear the same fruit.”

Similar to advertisers, there will be some creators who tried TikTok and it just didn’t work for their audiences, so they never bothered putting in the hours to build a following there — and right about now, they’re prbba;ly feeling pretty smug about that decision.

“I felt that pressure to create the TikTok-style content for a while, but for me, the brand awareness on TikTok just didn’t compare to what I have on Instagram,” one creator told Digiday, exchanging anonymity for candor. “On Instagram, I have a community of people who totally get me, who have been following me for 10 years.” This creator currently has 99.6K followers on Instagram.

Losers

TikTok’s U.S. staff
TikTok’s U.S. employees got a dose of clarity last week (Jan. 14) when they were informed that pay and benefits would be secure, and the platform’s U.S offices would stay open beyond the Jan. 19 deadline. But as The Verge reported, this reassurance only goes so far. While the specific total number of staff is unclear, especially as a number of staff had left the platform ahead of the deadline date, The New York Times reported (citing Live Data Technologies) that as of late 2024, TikTok had a total U.S. headcount of around 17,000 employees.

For employees, this isn’t the kind of limbo anyone wants to endure. If TikTok were to go offline indefinitely, the likelihood of long-term job security would shrink dramatically. The result: thousands more workers potentially flooding an already crowded job market, competing for their next opportunity in an uncertain economy. It’s yet another ripple effect of a drama that shows no signs of slowing down. 

TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users
Now, they’ve got a lifeline. TikTok’s temporary survival means creators can keep turning trends into paychecks, ideas into influence and likes into lifestyle. It also gives them a crucial window to strategize: testing the waters on rival platforms without the chaos of a forced mass exodus. For creators, the lesson is clear: stay nimble, stay ready and don’t put all your eggs in one algorithm. 

TikTok’s U.S. users might be relieved by Trump’s last minute reprieve, but the stress hasn’t disappeared. The temporary save offers a flicker of hope but its far from a guarantee that the app’s future is secure. After weeks of uncertainty, users got a sobering glimpse of life without TikTok. Trump’s executive order might keep the app alive for now, but it doesn’t erase the looming threat of a ban or its owners pulling it out of the market themselves. For millions, the relief is tempered by unease, as the platform’s fate remains tangled in political and legal limbo.

SMBs that rely on TikTok for their business
Bigger, global brands will likely be able to take the hit and weather the storm of losing access to TikTok’s U.S. user base for a few hours. But small-to-medium-sized companies that have effectively built their success from either going viral on TikTok, or being discovered on the platform those lost hours could’ve been costly.

Creators who rely on TikTok for monetization and audience
For most creators, TikTok is a part-time gig — platform monetization typically doesn’t cover the bills. But there’s a small, fortunate percentage who’ve turned their TikTok success into a lucrative career. For that lucky minority, the past few days have been nothing short of a nail biter. 

Take creator Madeline Ford, who had 2.1 million TikTok followers, previously told Digiday that the income she earned from TikTok’s Creativity Program (the platform’s updated creator fund) was “substantial” enough to pay her rent — though she didn’t disclose exact figures.

Similarly, creator Hunter Prosper, who had 6.5 million TikTok followers, acknowledged the app’s unique role in shaping his success, when it comes to money earned from the platform and building online community. “I can vouch, from the experience that I’ve had, I definitely would not be where I am without TikTok,” he added.

For these creators, TikTok isn’t just another platform, it’s their livelihood. Losing it would be akin to sudden job redundancy, forcing them to scramble to replicate their earnings and rebuild their audiences on alternative platforms — a daunting and uncertain challenge in an increasingly competitive creator economy.