Why TikTok Should Be Banned

The case for deleting an app with 1.6 billion users.

Hello and welcome to the 33 (!!) new subscribers since my last few posts, where I discussed whether or not you can repost a viral Instagram Reel, debunked whether or not Instagram really suppresses promotional posts, listed some concerns about the annual Spotify Wrapped data trend, and explored the difference between ~art~ and “content”.

It’s deeply fulfilling that anyone at all is reading these words, let alone paying for them.

So to all 1,265 of you: a sincere and heartfelt thank you for paying for my thoughts – be it with your money, time, or attention. The first portion of today’s article will be free for all readers, while the remainder will be available for paying subscribers only. To upgrade, click here.

---

*deep breath in*

Okay.

So.

I’ve been turning a blind eye to a pretty massive story for quite some time now, but I think it’s finally time to talk about the impending US TikTok ban, effective Jan 19th¹.

But first:

FULL DISCLOSURE: I actually worked at TikTok from May 2021 to August 2023. Initially as a Sales Operations Analyst, and later as a Revenue Management Analyst:

And here’s a screenshot of my LinkedIn profile, for further context on what I actually did (and didn’t do) there.

I first applied for the Sales Operations Analyst position in August of 2020, which was coincidentally around the first time the US government attempted to ban TikTok.

I was working at Oracle NetSuite at the time, in a nearly identical position to the one I was applying to at TikTok. My last role at Oracle was within the NetSuite Sales Planning & Analysis organization, which I was moved into after starting my career selling NetSuite (a cloud-based ERP software) in a standard, entry-level business development representative (BDR) role – until I wrote my way out of the sales org by freestyle rapping a voicemail for a prospect that got sent around the company².

And here’s another screenshot of my LinkedIn profile, for further context on what I actually did (and didn’t do) there.

I didn’t end up having my first (of six) interviews for my initial role at TikTok until March of 2021, and ultimately joined the Sales Ops org in May, 2021.

While I’m proud of my work there – mainly building internal dashboards to measure and increase the productivity of the Brand Partnerships and Sales Operations organizations – the insights I’m sharing with respect to the app’s functionality, user experience, and analytics are only based on publicly available information, and my personal experience using the app as a Creator.

This includes before, during, and after my time with the company. In fact, here is an article entitled, Lessons from TikTok, that I sent to this very mailing list in June 2020 – two months prior to applying for a job there, and nine months before my first interview.

Everything I’ve shared w.r.t. going viral on the app, it’s advanced features, and best practices comes exclusively from trial and error³ on my own account, @zucktok, where I’ve amassed 38.3K+ followers, 100+ million views, and 7.3 million video likes.

I always opted to take my performance bonuses in cash, not restricted share units (RSUs), and sold all my fully vested RSU’s upon leaving the company last summer.

I say this to 1) hopefully CMA, but 2) communicate I have no financial incentive for TikTok to be banned or not.

Anyway, here’s what I think about the whole thing.