American tiktokers are concerned about the impending ban of social media platform TikTok in the United States. According to them, the American government ignores that such a ban endangers their daily livelihood.
“It’s so essential for small businesses and makers, it’s my full-time job,” says 23-year-old Ayman Chaudhary from Chicago, for example. She makes short videos about books on TikTok. “It really worries me that I live in a country that would implement these kinds of bans instead of focusing on what’s really important, like gun control, health care and education.”
23-year-old influencer Awa Sanneh is also critical. “If you really understood the impact, you would want to keep TikTok.”
President Joe Biden signed a law last week leading to a possible ban of the popular app in the country. The law states, among other things, that ByteDance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, must sell its American parts. If ByteDance doesn’t do this, TikTok could be banned in the US. The law is intended to prevent China from using the social media app for propaganda and from abusing data from American users.
The law is intended to prevent China from using the social media app for propaganda and from abusing data from American users. TikTok has already announced that it will challenge the case in an American court.
“Crucial platform”
“Everyone involved in deciding whether or not to ban this platform is turning a blind eye to the impact this will have on all small businesses,” said 24-year-old Bilal Rehman from Texas. His TikTok account, which playfully promotes his company’s interior projects, has about half a million followers.
Experts endorse the concerns of the tiktokers. “It has become a crucial platform for many small businesses, especially those in niche industries or selling idiosyncratic products,” explains marketing analyst Jasmine Enberg. Damian Rollison, director of market insights at firm SOCi, is advising companies now relying on TikTok for advertising to make contingency plans in case the platform goes dark.
The White House insists that the intention is not to ban TikTok, but to force the app’s Chinese owner to sell it. ByteDance’s 270-day deadline extends beyond November. “This is about our national security. These are not concerns about the use of TikTok by Americans,” a spokeswoman responded.
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