Yukki Acala

As of April 23, 2024, The United States has passed a legislation requiring the Chinese company ByteDance to sell off their app otherwise their app would be taken off U.S. stores and websites. The TikTok ban has sparked significant debate across the United States, highlighting concerns over data privacy and national security. Despite the concerns, U.S. officials have yet to talk about users that have been impacted by TikTok and users that have been negatively affected by said ban.

Tiktok has over 1 billion active users, making it one of the most used social media sites. After hearing this ban passed, many users find it aggravating and pointless to focus on this topic as there are many other topics that are overlooked. 

Many users such as Sean Bermudez, also known as @breezeebaby on TikTok, believes that “TikTok has helped me reach audiences on social media that are harder to reach on other social media platforms.” Bermudez has reached over 73.8 thousand followers and 2.5 million likes on TikTok. “Without TikTok, I wouldn’t be in the position I am, with a big fan base and lots of supporters behind me, so I credit Tiktok for a lot of the success I’ve gotten recently,” Bermudez says. 

Other users such as influencer Haley Kalil (@haleyybaylee) feel as if their freedom of speech has been stripped away by this ban. Kalil posted a TikTok “congratulating” U.S. politicians for passing a law that she considered as unnecessary. In said post, her caption says, “Dear every US politician, congrats on passing a bill that completely violates our constitutional right to free speech and free press.” 

Influencers might feel that the ban not only restricts their personal expression, but also limits their ability to engage in a meaningful online community. The removal of such an impactful platform can be seen as diminishing their influence and the impact they can have on societal issues. 

The TikTok ban in certain regions has significantly impacted influencers who relied on their platforms as their only source of income. This cause influenced many to face immediate challenges such as loss of sponsorships and the TikTok Creator Fund. Many influences are having difficulties transitioning to other platforms as it is not as easy to gain attention compared to TikTok. 

Despite the ban, TikTok CEO Shou Zi has responded to the bill stating that, “many sponsors of the bill admitted that the TikTok ban was the end goal.” Zi expressed that, despite the United States being known for freedom, U.S. officials have silenced the many users on TikTok. In Zi’s Tik Tok video, Zi believes that TikTok will not be going anywhere and reassures that ByteDance will keep fighting for TikTok and its many users.