TikTok creators fear for their livelihoods after Biden signs law | Wilnesh News

Ophelia Nichols, known as “shoelover99” on TikTok, is one of many online creators and influencers whose livelihoods have been thrown into potential chaos.

Nichols, who lives in Alabama, has more than 12.5 million followers on TikTok, where she uses the app to create lifestyle content and deliver rants in a thick Southern accent. Her posts can attract millions of views, and she makes much of her income through promotional partnerships with brands like Home Chef.

But with legislative action in Washington, D.C., this week, Nichols doesn’t know what will happen next.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill forcing TikTok to divest itself from Chinese parent company ByteDance. If ByteDance does not sell TikTok, the app could face a ban in the United States.

“TikTok allows small businesses and creators to find their people in their communities,” Nichols told CNBC before the bill was signed. “It gives everyone an opportunity to interact in a way that they may have never been able to do before.” It changes people’s lives.”

inside may take years, as TikTok vowed to challenge it in court. But at the same time, there are many uncertainties.

According to a report, small and medium-sized enterprises using TikTok supported 224,000 jobs in 2023. Oxford Economics Studies Paid by TikTok. The study said that by 2023, these companies generated nearly $15 billion in revenue and contributed $24.2 billion to U.S. gross domestic product.

Nichols joined several other TikTok creators in going to the Capitol to oppose a potential ban. She wants to speak out against the practice and explain to lawmakers how she uses the app to run her business. Nichols said TikTok did not ask her to attend the protest.

“You’re taking away our First Amendment rights,” Nichols said. “People don’t understand. This is a community. This is a family. Whatever you like or makes you smile, you’ll find other people on the app who like it too.”

According to CNBC’s March National Economic Survey, nearly half, or 47%, of participants supported a ban or sale, while just over 30% opposed a ban.

On TikTok itself, there are more than 585,000 posts opposing the ban, consisting mainly of videos under the hashtags #KeepTikTok and #SaveTikTok. Many testimonials highlighted TikTok’s important role in providing online entertainment, while others pleaded to retain the current platform, arguing it is crucial to their livelihoods.

The effort stems from ByteDance’s $7 million marketing strategy to mobilize U.S. opposition to the ban. Strategies include a heartfelt testimonial video featuring TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and an in-app banner urging users to call the senator.

After Biden signed the bill on Wednesday, TikTok called the measure unconstitutional and said it would challenge the law in court.

“We believe the facts and the law are clearly on our side and we will ultimately prevail,” the company said in a statement. Post on X. “This ban will destroy 7 million businesses and silence 170 million Americans.”

Lawmakers have long considered TikTok a national security threat to the United States and have said the Chinese government could use data from the app to spy on American users and spread disinformation and conspiracy theories.

Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin told CNBC’s “Last Call” on Tuesday that the legislation is not a ban but simply requires TikTok to separate from ByteDance.

“You can still keep the platform, you can still move forward,” Mullin said. “But the Chinese Communist Party is using the algorithms they developed for ByteBounce, TikTok, and the servers they use for propaganda.”

TikTok creators and influencers who stay away from the political sphere have different concerns.

Many users of the app have struggled to reach similar audiences on other platforms. Creators say that each platform is different and has its own audience and interests, and TikTok’s algorithm makes it easier for their videos to be discovered by a wider audience.

“People say, ‘If we shut down TikTok, they will follow you on Meta,’ and that’s not true,” said V Spehar, host of Under Desk, a short-form news program with more than 3 million viewers. ) explain. “For a lot of people, that’s not the case. Otherwise, that’s what we would be doing.”

TikTok offers several ways to make money, including its creative program designed to reward popular videos that are longer than one minute. In addition, creators can generate revenue through brand partnerships and affiliate sales on the TikTok store, and receive virtual “gifts” from fans during live broadcasts.

Competing platforms try to encourage users to post short videos to their platforms. Last year, YouTube Shorts changed its monetization plan to provide users with 45% of ad revenue through multiple posts. However, Users say that paid content is not as expensive as long-form videos.

It gets harder elsewhere, too. last year, Yuan closed Its plan to pay short-form video creators on Instagram and Facebook. Creators complained that they had made nothing while receiving hundreds of thousands of views on the app. However, Instagram head Adam Mosseri hint at the plan May return in 2024.

Plastic surgeon Tony Youn, who has 8.4 million TikTok followers, said finding a large audience is difficult. His videos, which touch on everything from weight loss and plastic surgery to hilarious clips of traffic jams, often reach hundreds of thousands of views.

“I intentionally diversified because as a businessman, I know you have to,” Youn said. “But not everyone has done that.”

Youn added that part of his anger over the TikTok bill has to do with the fact that “people with much smaller voices than mine are going to be really harmed if this happens.”