On January 19th many influencers, creators and small business brands are bracing for the ban of the most downloaded app in the U.S.: TikTok. This ban could have a big impact due to the fact that it serves as a news outlet, entertainment source, and for most influencers, their income.
With the app having about 170 million users only in the U.S., the users will likely be able to still have access to the app considering they could use a virtual private network (VPN), but some experts say that over time due to the lack of security and software updates the app will soon become unusable.
Most creators on tiktok are preparing for the ban and saying their goodbyes as the date for the suspected ban comes closer. This could be a big financial issue for some considering that most influencers on the app use it as their main stream of income. Although they could use other apps to keep their following up and as a different stream of income, most influencers and creators on TikTok have been on there for a while and the app has become an essential part of their lives, now with the possibility of it being banned many big influencers, creators, and just the overall app users are wondering what they’ll have to due to find either a new stream of income or just a new way to entertain themselves.
Many are confused on why the ban for tiktok is being put into place and if it’s really necessary. The government has concerns about national security from the company ByteDance which owns the app. Some lawmakers have suspicions about how the TikTok app ties to China. They have tried to regulate it, though the previous efforts to extensively restrict it have been unsuccessful. The U.S. officials have repeatedly warned people that TikTok does in fact threaten the U.S national security because of the Chinese government being able to use the app to spy on Americans or use this app to weaponize the U.S. A portion of U.S. officials say, because the Chinese national security laws require most organizations to cooperate with their intelligence gathering.
The overall problem with TikTok is that it has a large number of American users and China may have the ability to direct misinformation through the app as well as being able to collect data from it, so the general extent of the platform is altogether complicated.
