“TikTok Has Changed My Life”: Creators React to the Looming US Ban

“We will never see an app like TikTok ever again. I am happy I got to be a big part of it while it lasted,” says Coco Mocoe, a popular content creator who has gained a substantial presence on TikTok, with her influence reaching an impressive audience of over one million followers on the platform.

“(TikTok) has changed my life,” she continues, “I remember being on the metro in 2019 and overhearing a group of 30-year-old businessmen talking about the app. One guy was convincing the others to download the app and showing them how funny the videos were. That was the moment I knew this app was about to break mainstream. It has brought so many people together and taught us things we would have never thought to research.”

The fate of TikTok in the US now hangs in the balance as the House of Representatives recently passed a bill that could lead to the app's ban unless its parent company, ByteDance, sells within the stipulated timeframe. 

This move, backed by President Biden, now awaits a decision from the Senate, leaving the future of the immensely popular social media platform uncertain.

The bill, dubbed the "Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," gained significant support in the House, with 352 votes in favor against 65 opposing votes. However, the Senate's stance on the matter remains less clear, sparking speculation and conjecture in the coming weeks.

Under the proposed legislation, ByteDance has approximately five months to divest TikTok. Failure to do so within this timeframe could result in TikTok's effective ban from the US market, with app store operators like Apple and Google prohibited from hosting the platform.