Local content creators weigh in on looming Tik Tok ban
Content creators throughout the U.S. are on edge about a potential Tik Tok ban.
President Biden signed a foreign aid package last Wednesday providing assistance to Ukrainian, Israeli, and Indo-Pacific allies.
The package also included a measure that could lead to a Tik Tok ban in the U.S.
The bill gives Tik Tok's Chinese owned parent company, ByteDance nine months to sell the app with a potential extension of 90 days if a sale is in progress.
Content creators and influencers that earn up to thousands of dollars per post are worried their income could take a hit.
"I would notice a difference in my finances," said Indio based lifestyle creator, Kiarybel Lara. "So I hope it doesn't get banned."
Lara has built an impressive online community over the past seven years allowing her to monetize her following.
"On instagram I have close to 300,000 followers. On Tik Tok I have 12,000 followers, and on youtube I believe I'm close to 30,000 followers," added Lara.
She posts a variety of content from skits to recipes and says she reaches an entirely new audience on Tik Tok.
"I also use Tik Tok shop," said Lara. "Because Tik Tok has such a large audience, it's such a huge platform. I do make money off of sponsorships on there."
The foreign aid package passed by President Biden gives Tik Tok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance nine months to sell the app or face a ban from app stores in the U.S.
"I know that there's influencers out there, where Tik Tok is their primary platform, so I know that it would affect them a lot," added Lara. "It's like starting your business from scratch because something gets taken away that's really important."
Before the foreign aid package was approved by the Senate both Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz and Congressman Ken Calvert voted in favor of the measure to ban Tik Tok.
Congressman Calvert shared the following in a statement to News Channel 3 on the measure to ban Tik Tok.
“I voted for the new bipartisan law to ban Tik Tok if it remains under the control of its Chinese-owner ByteDance. Under Chinese law, the Chinese communist party has complete control and access over ByteDance and, therefore, Tik Tok. Giving an adversary, like China, this kind of unrestricted access to the personal information of Americans and unfettered ability to influence our political system is an obvious national security threat. Americans enjoy the right to express themselves. Our adversaries do not enjoy the right to spy on Americans as they exercise that right.”
Congressman Dr. Raul Ruiz also addressed the foreign aid package in the statement below.
“I voted to protect Americans and to protect Tik Tok by making sure it is owned by companies that are friendly to Americans and share our American values."
"There's other alternatives. For instance, on Instagram, it's a bigger platform for me. So I do make money off of that, but it just takes a huge opportunity away because Tik Tok is is very new and it's still growing," said Lara.
According to lawmakers, Tik Tok poses national security threats. Meanwhile content creators like Lara want more proof of those threats.
"I just feel like if you're afraid, stay off Tik Tok and if you're not, use Tik Tok while you can," added Lara.
A ban does not mean Tik Tok will outright disappear from your phone. If you have the app downloaded you may be able to use it, but you won’t be able to make updates.
Whereas new users won’t be able to download the app from the app store.
Per reports ByteDance is not planning to sell the app which can lead to further litigation between tech companies and U.S. lawmakers.
