SPOKANE, Wash. — With the potential TikTok ban drawing nearer, local influencers are bracing themselves for whatever comes their way.
On January 10, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about the law aiming to ban the Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok.
If the law is passed, the ban would go into effect on January 19.
Some of the most successful content creators, also known as influencers, have built online communities around their TikTok accounts. They use them to share their content, whether it be about music, fashion, lifestyle, comedy or other topics, while also supporting themselves financially.
“TikTok in some ways has really changed my life,” said Erica Baty.
Baty is a registered dietician in Spokane with over 200,000 followers on the app. She uses her account to share realistic nutritional information and healthy recipes.
“TikTok is kind of my avenue to help people find my website and find my recipes and content. So, without TikTok, that puts another roadblock in how I reach new people,” said Baty.
Adam Foote is another local influencer. He is known as the ‘Handpan Man’ and posts TikTok videos of himself playing the handpan at scenic spots in Coeur d’Alene.
“TikTok has 100% helped me get to where I’m at. I am so grateful and so thankful to be where I am at. I would not have gotten here without TikTok,” said Foote.
He said he does have some doubts over how viewership on the app works.
“I don’t know, it’s just like, what’s the truth in all of that? What’s the truth at all of it,” said Foote.
Foote is not the only one who is skeptical over what happens behind the scenes on TikTok. Lawmakers in favor of the ban cite security concerns about how much access TikTok’s parent company, Chinese-based ByteDance, has to users’ data.
Gonzaga University Professor Dr. Joseph Flores argues we are ignoring similar data privacy issues with American companies.
“The same kind of data mining that the federal government is concerned about with TikTok are the same practices that Facebook and Google use. Why aren’t we having a larger conversation about protecting data with American companies,” said Flores.
Creators like Baty and Foote have started making adjustments to keep their business and following alive, in case the ban does go into effect.
“I’ll continue to work on building communities on platforms that I own and control, like my own website, my own blog and my own email list,” said Baty.
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