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Owner of 'The Local' in St. Augustine concerned about attracting guests if TikTok ban bill is passed

The TikTok ban bill may be signed into law by the end of the year, creating security concerns for political leaders and small business owners who depend on the app.

ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH, Fla. — The TikTok ban bill may be signed into law by Congress by the end of the year, creating security concerns for political leaders and small business owners who depend on the app.

There were many things Leila Bedoian didn't know when she bought the nearly 80-year-old motel, The Local, in St. Augustine. One of those was gaining thousands of followers on TikTok from videos about her business.

“I kind of forgot about it for a couple of days," Bedoian told First Coast News. "And then all of a sudden, I looked down and I had a million views on one of my TikToks."

Bedoian says her TikTok platform draws in 50,000 potential guests every month, adding that she relies on the platform to bring in new guests to her motel.

“We can show up in people's feeds that would never have found us otherwise,” Bedoian said.

Although the app comes with great success for Bedoian's business, it's giving her uncertainty with the potential to be banned in the country.

“If there was a ban, I would have to figure out how to replace that reach with virtually zero marketing dollars,” she mentioned.

In a 2024 study done by Oxford Economics, 90% of small businesses in Florida say they saw an increase after promoting their products and services on TikTok.

President of Global Business Solutions at TikTok Blake Chandlee says "this study demonstrates what we at TikTok already knew: it's a game changer for small businesses and has a significant impact on the U.S. economy."

The video sharing app has brought not just $1.7 billion to the state, but more jobs.

The study further highlights how 81% of Florida small businesses say they sold out of a product after promoting it on TikTok.

Despite Bedoian's boom in business, lawmakers are trying to regulate the China-based platform, saying it's a threat to the nation's security and user data. And while it's still available on app stores now, it's creating a community of small business owners in St. Augustine online and in-person.

“We share a new business, one or two on our own social media platforms and those honestly do better than our own content,” Bedoian told First Coast News.

If the bill becomes law, the owner of TikTok, Byte-Dance will have until September to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based investor or lose access to app stores and web-hosting services in the country.

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