Potential TikTok ban has San Francisco content creators concerned
SAN FRANCISCO — While large corporations and government are fighting over a potential TikTok ban, it's also impacting millions of ordinary people who use the app for their livelihood.
Kara Harms is one of those people.
"I have been creating content for nine years now, and it started with Instagram, and then when TikTok came on the scene in 2019, I immediately jumped on it," Harms said.
Harms is a full-time content creator. Her content focuses on traveling and the city of San Francisco.
"Recently, someone told me they can feel how much I love San Francisco from my content."
Since 2019, Harms page, @Whimysoul, has amassed a following of almost 350,000 people.
"TikTok and social media is a great way to share ideas, assemble and learn," she said, defending the app. "I know our lawmakers like to pass it off as a silly little app where dances happen, and kids hang out, but my husband learned how to make sourdough bread that he's making right now."
Wednesday, the House of Representatives voted to potential ban the app. Lawmakers are concerned TikTok's parent company, the Chinese-owned Byte Dance, could use the app to spy on Americans, spread misinformation, or sow divisions.
"I think one of the mistakes that folks make is they think it is free," said California State East Bay Professor of Media Studies, Dr. Nolan Higdon. "You have to give up your privacy, which is a huge cost to a lot of folks and everything you do on there, everything you create you're not paid for it with any sort of wage, meanwhile, the platform profits from it."
Harms said this ban wouldn't only impact her, but her staff as well. She has five people working for her. She says many other creators have employees as well. She earns most of her money through paid sponsored content and TikTok accounts for about 30% of her total revenue.
"I might have to cut people," Harms said. "We just hired on a new email manager this morning, actually. I hope I don't have to cancel that contract. We'll see."
