TikTok’s Exit Could Be Meta’s Golden Hour

The U.S. Appeals Court just threw TikTok a major curveball: ByteDance, its parent company, must sell the app or face a total ban nationwide. While the ruling doesn’t outright ban TikTok, it’s a serious blow. Without a sale, app stores like Apple’s App Store and Google Play would be forced to pull TikTok off their shelves.

But hold your #ForYou tears—this isn’t game over yet. ByteDance plans to take the fight to the Supreme Court. If TikTok loses there, though, it’s curtains for 170 million users, countless creators, and a generation of viral dance challenges.

Who’s grinning in the background? Mark Zuckerberg and his Meta empire. The social media giant has been sharpening its short-form video chops ever since TikTok started dominating screens. Meta’s Instagram Reels, a TikTok-inspired feature rolled out in 2020, has become a serious contender. In fact, Zuckerberg can’t stop talking about Reels during earnings calls.

Meta has made sure Reels doesn’t just look like TikTok but feels like it too. The app’s AI-driven recommendation feed is designed to keep you scrolling endlessly—just like TikTok. And it’s working. During Meta’s Q1 earnings call in April, Zuckerberg revealed that Reels makes up half the time users spend on Instagram. By Q3, CFO Susan Li confirmed that 60% of Reels content is original, which keeps users hooked.

While Meta hasn’t spilled the tea on exactly how much cash Reels is raking in, it’s clear the feature is a moneymaker. And if TikTok bites the dust in the U.S., TikTok’s creators and their fans could flock to Reels, bringing their ad dollars along for the ride. Investors are already betting on it—Meta’s stock jumped 2% after the court ruling.

But Meta isn’t the only player poised to win. YouTube Shorts, Google’s rival platform, is also waiting in the wings. More creators and advertisers could migrate there too, fattening Google’s bottom line in the process.

This entire legal saga stems from U.S. officials’ fears about ByteDance’s ties to the Chinese government. The concern? TikTok could be used to spy on American users or spread propaganda. Whether or not these fears are justified, the potential ban would send shockwaves through the social media world.

For now, TikTok’s fate hangs by a thread, and the clock is ticking. Meanwhile, Meta and Google are prepping their welcome mats—and maybe even popping champagne.