Some users of TikTok said that although their favorite app may be banned, they are not panicking.
NBC News reported this Week, citing a source close the company, that the Biden administration threatened to ban TikTok from the U.S. if TikTok’s Chinese owners don’t sell their stakes. NBC News asked a few young users about the threat and they shared a similar sentiment.
Online responses seem to be less severe that when Donald Trump’s administration proposed a ban.
Haley Kowtko (19 years old) from California said via text that the same thing happened. “I don’t see many people talking about it, especially not on the app. “I haven’t seen any mention of the app potentially being banned.”
However, that doesn’t mean people don’t respond to the app. The hashtag #DontBanTikTok received more than 93.2 millions views. Some videos date back to 2020, while others were uploaded this week in response to reports about the Biden administration’s move. A TikTok spokesperson confirmed Friday the existence of a few creators who plan to protest off-app in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, to voice their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration.
However, the current sentiment is quite different from the Trump administration’s previous proposal to ban it. one creator stated that they had “never heard so many people talking about the same thing on the app in this length of time.”
Kowtko stated that “I believe because we all freaked before and nothing happened,”.
Jacqueline Metzger (17 years old) said that she was surprised to hear about the ban. She said that losing TikTok could lead to a new platform or make an existing platform more popular. This is similar to Vine’s void, which TikTok filled.
“If TikTok gets banned, someone will come up with an alternate. Metzger stated that TikTok has many alternatives, such as YouTube videos and Instagram reels. “It’s everywhere so I’m really not worried about it.”
Creators are less afraid this time around: Some creators have been expanding beyond TikTok to increase their following.
“I don’t see this happening in the near-term, and creators from 2020 have been really savvy about being online multiple platforms and doing short-form videos on multiple places,” Mae Karwowski (founder and CEO of influencer marketing agency Obviously) said. It’s not as damaging as the original story from 2020.
She stated that the current vibe among TikTok users and content creators is “cautiously optimistic.”
The app will still be available, I believe. It will not be owned by ByteDance, however.
Gigi Robinson (24), a content creator, motivational speaker for Gen Z and a public speaker
Marcus DiPaola is the creator of TikTok, which has 3.8 million followers. He said that he noticed panicked creators fearing losing their platform.
DiPaola is well-known for his videos on current events. He said that he’d seen many TikToks from creators asking followers to sign up to other platforms in the event of the platform disappearing. DiPaola stated that he is among the more relaxed users.
He said, “I’m on many platforms.” He said, “If TikTok were banned, it would be a suck. But I’m not screwed.”
Others who used the app indicated that they don’t worry about TikTok being sold to a U.S-based company. This would mean it wouldn’t disappear entirely.
“I’m not genuinely concerned at all,” stated Gigi Robinson (24), a content creator, motivational speaker and Gen Z public speaker.
She referred to the time Microsoft was running for TikTok, when Trump tried to ban it.
She said that she believes the app will be available in some way. “I don’t believe it will be owned ByteDance.”
