Philadelphia-based content creators, expert weigh in on possible TikTok ban
Time is ticking for TikTok.
The popular social media app is facing a possible ban in the United States if a law requiring its Chinese owner to part ways with the platform goes into effect this Sunday.
"I'm losing out on a whole other stream of income," content creator Melissa Miller said.
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the law, which clears the way for the popular app to shutter in the U.S. as soon as Sunday.
The possibility of the app vanishing is putting pressure on Philadelphia-based creators like Miller. In the past year, she has garnered close to 10 million views on TikTok alone. That sort of engagement has transformed into a lucrative second income for her.
"TikTok is an entire industry," Miller said.
Miller's lifestyle content heavily depends on the platform's algorithm for discoverability.
"It's allowed my following to grow so much," Miller said. "And missing that element, I don't know how easy it will be to keep growing my social platforms going forward."
Another feature that will be missed by users is the app's use as a video-based search engine.
"TikTok has all the answers in seconds," Miller said in one of her videos on the app. "It's my main search engine. I don't want to go back to Google."
Christina Mitchell, who co-runs the popular account Philly Food Ladies, says depending on the number of views, creators can make thousands of dollars a month on the app.
"It's also very devastating for businesses," Mitchell said. "Now they can't show their products on this app anymore. So, they're going to be losing out on a lot of money. People who work in influencer marketing I've heard are being laid off."
Those in favor of the ban, like cyber crime expert and Drexel University professor Rob D'Ovidio, argue TikTok poses a national security risk due to its ties to China.
"Because of TikTok's connection to ByteDance, which is a Chinese-owned company, the laws in China permit the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, to have access to the data that they're collecting," D'Ovidio said. "And these data sets can be powerful weapons."
The app's future isn't set in stone just yet. D'Ovidio says the incoming presidential administration or the sale of the app to a U.S. buyer could impact a final decision.
"It remains to be seen even if there is a sale if it'll be the same type of experience for users, but I think we're going in the right direction here," D'Ovidio said.
If it is banned, the first immediate impact on users in the United States would be TikTok disappearing from the app stores.
This would stop new users from downloading it.
However, if it's already downloaded on a device, users may still be able to access it until more restrictive measures are rolled out. On Wednesday, Reuters reported the company plans to shut down in the country once the ban goes into effect.