The impending ban on TikTok in the US is starting to backfire on content creators whose livelihoods rely on the popular video app.
The ban is expected to take effect on January 19, after the Supreme Court heard arguments on the move on Friday following months of debate. Congress pushed for the ban because of privacy concerns with Chinese parent company ByteDance, while TikTok lawyers argue the ban would violate users’ free speech rights.
Washington wedding stylist Kati Kons, who posted about her TikTok handle @portraitofabrideonfire being banned, says she is at risk of losing her job.
“It really hit me where I was, 90 percent of my business comes from TikTok. Ninety percent of my clients,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve had a single customer inquiry from Instagram.”
For about a year, Kons has been posting on TikTok to more than 23,000 followers about queer wedding fashion and politics, and says it’s opened more doors than she ever thought possible.
She encouraged her TikTok followers to switch to her Snapchat and Bluesky accounts, with some success.
Recently, Kons called on people to boycott Meta platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Threads, as well as X, Google, YouTube and LinkedIn, for lobbying to ban TikTok.
“I just prefer to see the consequences of not listening to people,” she said.
Supreme Court justices on Friday examined the nature of TikTok’s speech rights and the government’s national security concerns. Joanne Molinaro, an American full-time TikTok creator, says that ‘TikTok’s singling out seems arbitrary’, adding that the potential ban will ‘hit the bottom’ of small businesses and creators.
She says the government pushing the ban is indicative of a “massive” disconnect between politicians and the American public.
That sentiment is shared by Nikita Redkar, a comedian from Brooklyn, New York, who has nearly 800,000 followers as @nikitadumptruck on TikTok.
She says content creators are angry.
“There’s a cost-of-living crisis, there’s a climate crisis, there’s so many crises, but somehow the entire American government came together to vote on this,” Redkar said. “It seems like a very obvious way to control the narrative.”
TikTok is expected to be removed from app stores
Under the law, TikTok will be banned on January 19 unless ByteDance divests itself of the app, which there is no indication it will do. If the ban goes into effect, the app is expected to be removed from app stores and its 170 million US users will no longer be able to receive updates for it. People can still keep it on their phones, but it will degrade over time without updates, and the company may decide to block its users from accessing it before that happens.
US President-elect Donald Trump has suggested he is no longer in favor of the ban, but is opening up the possibility of a reversal when he takes office on January 20.
Another Chinese short video app, RedNote — called Xiaohongshu in China — has climbed to the top of Apple’s 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 worry it could be banned in the US for the same reason as TikTok.
Redkar, a comedian, started posting on TikTok during the 2021 pandemic and discovered an audience beyond what she had been able to tap into in her several years of stand-up comedy.
She found a niche by explaining the news in a comical and easy-to-understand format, tackling controversial topics as if she were delivering “high school drama” and gossip. Redkar has since found a strong community of other political content creators and makes money through brand deals on the platform.
She says the reality of the ban is just beginning to dawn on her.
“It’s definitely scary. I don’t think I’ve fully grasped what might happen, but now I’m kind of preparing myself for the reality of it,” she said. “I start by talking to my audience about switching to other apps, and then I just share my honest thoughts about it.”
Redkar is nervous that her political content won’t play as well on other platforms like Instagram Reels, and says she’ll also miss TikTok’s video editing features.
‘It’s going to be messy’
“I think my income will be significantly affected if they only pay me to advertise on Instagram,” she said. “Now I have to rush and get into some of these other apps, like YouTube, but then 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 delayed, giving creators more time to figure out their next moves or develop a new app that reflects TikTok’s “community” feel.
TikTok is not banned in Canada though shutdown was ordered its Canadian operations last year and federal public servants they could not access application on state phones from February 2023.
Content creators in Canada are also feeling the uncertainty, with deals with American brands and a significant portion of their following up in the air.
Joey Pittari, a model from Toronto who has 3.5 million TikTok followers with the name @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 gained his social media presence following comedy sketches and lip-smacking videos.
“I think we will continue to be affected [as Canadians] because a lot of our followers are based in America, and a lot of those 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 on other platforms and encouraging his followers to join him.
“I mean, that’s all I can really do, right?”
