Arizona small businesses prepare for upcoming potential TikTok ban
MESA, AZ (AZFamily) — Many small businesses in Arizona rely on TikTok to help them with marketing. With the potential ban looming, it is unclear how that would affect their customer base.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments for the case on Friday and will eventually decide whether the law that could ban the app from the U.S. violates the First Amendment.
The case comes after Congress passed a law forcing TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest from the app or have it banned from the U.S.
TikTok says there are over 170 million users in America.
Kateri Cusumano and her boyfriend Vinny have been running Amici Pizza since 2023. Around that time, she started posting videos on TikTok, which have begun to go viral in the last few months.
“Mainly in the last six months or so, things have skyrocketed like beyond anything you could ever imagine honestly,” Cusumano said.
She says the restaurant now serves about five times the number of customers daily compared to a year ago. The Amici Pizza TikTok has over 230,000 followers and 15.5 million likes, but the platform could soon be gone.
“There are many other alternatives to TikTok,” said lawyer and Constitutional law expert Robert McWhirter.
He believes the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold the law Congress passed in 2024 because the U.S. government believes the social media platform presents a national security risk.
“The First Amendment protects speech. It doesn’t protect the platform where you have that speech,” explained McWhirter.
For Cusumano, TikTok is where she’s built her brand. While Amici Pizza is also on other social media platforms, it’s unclear how big the impact would have been without TikTok.
“I think there’s a different demographic on all the platforms, and I think TikTok has nailed the algorithm so well,” she said.
The TikTok ban is set to officially go into effect on Jan. 19, the day before President-elect Trump is sworn into office. Trump has recently asked for a delay in the ban to reach a resolution.
“The statute does give the President a certain leeway in dealing with the situation,” said McWhirter.
While the new level of popularity from TikTok has been an adjustment for the staff at Amici Pizza, it’s one Cusumano is thankful for whether the app stays or goes.
“I know that TikTok has its pros and cons obviously, but for us, we have seen amazing things come out of it,” she said.
In a statement from December, the app said it believes the Supreme Court will find the ban unconstitutional.
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