The creators of TikTok are shocked, angry as the US ban is expected in Jan. 19
The impending ban on TikTok in the US has begun to trickle down to content creators who rely on the popular video app for a living.
The ban is expected to go into effect on Jan. 19, after the Supreme Court heard arguments on Friday about the measure following months of debate. Congress challenged the ban because of privacy concerns with Chinese parent company ByteDance, and TikTok's lawyers say the ban would violate users' free speech rights.
Washington, DC-based bridal stylist Kati Kons, who has been tweeting about her TikTok handle @portraitofabrideonfire being banned, says she is at risk of losing her business.
“It really hit me when I was like, 90 percent of my business is from TikTok. 90 percent of my clients,” he said. “I don't think I've ever had a single customer inquiry go through Instagram.”
Kons has been tweeting on TikTok for over a year to more than 23,000 followers about edgy wedding fashion and politics, and she says it's opened more doors than she thought possible.
He has been encouraging his TikTok followers to migrate to his Snapchat and Bluesky accounts, with some success.
Recently, Kons has been urging people to boycott Meta platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Threads, as well as X, Google, YouTube and LinkedIn, in favor of banning TikTok.
“I prefer to see the result of them not listening to people,” he said.
Supreme Court justices on Friday investigated the nature of TikTok's speech rights and the government's national security concerns. Joanne Molinaro, a full-time TikTok content creator from the US, says that 'picking on TikTok seems like a no-brainer,' adding that the potential ban will 'hit the bottom line' for small businesses and creators.
He says the government's push for a ban is indicative of a “massive” disconnect between politicians and the American public.
That sentiment is shared by Nikita Redkar, a comedian based in Brooklyn, NY who has nearly 800,000 followers as @nikitadumptruck on TikTok.
He says content creators are angry.
“There's a cost of living problem, there's a climate problem, there's a lot of problems, but somehow the entire American government came together to vote on this,” Redkar said. “It seems like the most obvious way to control the narrative.”
TikTok is expected to be removed from the app stores
Under the law, TikTok will be banned on Jan. 19 unless ByteDance splits the app, which shows no signs of doing so. If the ban goes into effect, the app is expected to be removed from the app stores, and its 170 million American users will no longer be able to receive updates. People can still keep it on their phones, but it will degrade over time without updates, and the company may choose to block its users from accessing it before that happens.
US President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he no longer supports the ban, however, opening the door to a reversal when he takes office on January 20.
Another Chinese short video app, RedNote – called Xiaohongshu in China – has reached the top of the Apple app store charts in the US, as some TikTok creators migrate there in anticipation of the ban.
Founded in 2013, Rednote has around 300 million active users, although some are worried, too, that it could be banned in the US for the same reason as TikTok.
Redkar, a comedian, started posting on TikTok during the riots in 2021, and found a larger audience than he had managed in several years of comedy.
He found a place to tell stories in a humorous and easy-to-understand format, tackling controversial issues as if he were conveying “high school drama” and gossip. Redkar has found a strong community of other political content creators, and monetizes product deals on the platform.
He says the reality of the ban is starting to sink in.
“It's really scary. I don't think I've fully grasped what's possible, but now I'm getting ready for it to be true,” he said. “I'm starting to talk to my audience about transferring to other apps, and then share my honest thoughts about it.”
Redkar fears his political content won't play well on other platforms like Instagram Reels, and says he'll also miss TikTok's video editing features.
'It's going to be hard'
“I think my income will be greatly affected if I only get paid to advertise it on Instagram,” he said. “Now I have to rush into some of these other apps, like YouTube, but there's going to be a huge influx of people going to YouTube…. It's going to be a little messy.”
Redkar hopes the ban will be lifted, giving creators more time to figure out their next move or develop a new app that reflects TikTok's “community” feel.
TikTok has not been banned in Canada, although it was ordered to close its operations in Canada last year, and federal government employees have not been able to access the app through government calls since February 2023.
Content creators in Canada are also feeling the uncertainty, with American product deals and many of their fans on the air.
Joey Pittari, a Toronto-based model with 3.5 million TikTok followers with the handle @joewoahy, has been on the platform since its inception, and was previously on Musical.ly before it merged with TikTok.
Pittari says he doesn't know where his career would be if he hadn't benefited from social media after making comedies and lip-syncing videos.
“I think we will still be affected [as Canadians] because many of our fans are based in America, and most of these brands are American,” he said.
Pittari says he's trying to stay positive and hopes it won't affect him too much. In the meantime, he plans to continue pushing content to other platforms and encouraging his followers to come.
“I mean that's all I can do, right?”
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