Tik Tok goes the countdown – Idaho viral dog-sled tour responds to potential TikTok ban

DRIGGS, Idaho (KIFI) - An Idaho company could feel the pinch over a proposed ban of TikTok.

TikTok's chinese based parent company Bytedance has until January to sell the platform to an American based tech company, or the the app could be banned in the United States. The ban is currently tied up in legal battles.

Amid all this a report by Oxford Economics found that 45% of small businesses on TikTok consider it essential to their business.

Abby and Michael Traver started their dog sledding tour company "Call of the Wyld"  in 2019.

"We're really about education and preserving the legacy of dog mushing," Michael told Local News 8.

But when the pandemic put their dreams on hold TikTok provided the pair with an escape.

 "We started (TikTok) just as like, kind of that's something fun to do, just like a little bit of a joke," Says Abby.

After a year, the pair had gained a following. In March of 2021 the couple posted their first viral video, reaching 9 million views as of November 2024.

The couple's small business now boasts a small social media audience of 61,000 followers, all of which stemmed from a video highlighting the birth of their rare Seppala Siberian Huskies.

"There's probably 6 or 7 kennels in the United States that help keep the breed alive," Michael told Local News 8.

"That is the video that took us viral," adds Abby. "I have no idea why. But it just really resonated with a lot of people."

But as the countdown to the potential TikTok ban draws closer, the team, like many other small businesses across the country, asks, "Why?"

"We kind of consider ourselves low risk," said Michael. "Having photos of dogs and videos of dogs really isn't the end of the world to be out there?"

But the risk of potential user data leaks and potential threats to national security have raised concerns for the United States Senate.

However, according to a study by the Washington Post; Facebook, Google and Twitter all collect more data than the chinese app.

There could still be hope for the social media company, as the ban is tied up in legal battles. In addition, President-elect Donald Trump, once opposed to the app, says he's now in favor of the platform, having joined himself in June.

"Both political parties use it in their campaigns," said Abby. So as much as it can be a scary thing, and we want to be sensitive to people's feelings about it, the reality is that it is a very powerful platform"

So powerful in fact, TikTok claims the platform has added $21 Billion to the U.S. economy through small businesses.

As for teams and small businesses like Call of the Wyld, the sled dogs and their trainers are preparing for any obstacles on their trail.

"We're dog mushers, we would persevere. We're resourceful," Abby Traver told Local News 8. "But a lot of people nowadays are very visual people. They don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on something if they don't know what the expectations are. People would be a little more wary, possibly, of booking. When they can't go on TikTok and say, 'Oh, well, this is how their kennel operates. I can literally see how their dogs are kept. I can see that their dogs are well fed and looking healthy and they go to the vet.' Those are all things that give people trust in us," Traver said.