Creators face their ‘worst nightmare’ with possible TikTok ban

By Julian Cannon

Seky Bowie, an 18-year-old content creator on TikTok, started her account in early 2022. And with her posts about yoga, fashion and various lifestyle content, she rapidly grew her following to over 82,000 throughout the year. But in recent months, with the legislative threats to ban TikTok from government devices(or even altogether in the U.S.), Bowie is one of a number of creators worried about the fate of the app, as they have invested time and resources to grow followings and secure brand deals specific to TikTok.

“It’s been a pioneer and a trailblazer for other apps in the same space,” said Bowie. “There are a lot of businesses that profit off of making content themselves on TikTok or doing it through people like us, so it has a lot of social and economic dominance in our society. Taking it away is like moving backwards; almost like bringing our internet, or at least this format of the internet, back to pre-Covid.”

The ban on the table

Federal legislation prohibiting government employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices and computer networks has gained traction in recent months. And this month, New Jersey and Ohio will join 12 other states in banning the use of the popular video app on government-owned and managed devices.

This push to potentially ban TikTok is the latest move by the U.S. government regarding the app. Previous interest banning TikTok during the Trump administration had marketers worried, but the ban did not come to fruition.

Despite the legislative interest in curbing the app’s growth in the U.S., TikTok saw a surge of small businesses users in 2022 who used the app alongside creators and influencers who had built their followings on the platform already. The businesses joined TikTok as it continued to grow in popularity, especially among Gen Z, making it more appealing to brands seeking the attention of younger demographics.

At the same time, questions remain about data privacy on TikTok — a major issue at the center of the legislative interest. For instance, ByteDance, TikTok’s China-based parent company, is using the app to monitor specific U.S. citizens’ locations. And a variety of methods are used to collect user data, including scanning hard drives and geolocating devices every hour, accessing calendars, and collecting contact lists, according to Wired. It is unclear what information a foreign government could obtain about users, such as location and private messages.

Creators express apprehension

Even so, creators and those who work with creators want to keep growing their audiences on the app. For example, Bowie created her TikTok account to share her love of yoga with the audience she surprisingly gained, and soon her account grew to include sharing pieces of her lifestyle. “Although it originally started out as a fun little hobby, I fell in love with the creative process behind making these kinds of videos,” she said.

Bowie’s not alone. Other creators and agency executives are also …read more

Source:: Digiday