Some TikTok users said they were unfazed and their favorite app might get banned, but instead of panicking, they said they were unfazed.
A source close to the company told NBC News that the Biden administration is threatening to ban TikTok in the US if Chinese owners don't sell their stakes. The online response appears to be less severe than when President Donald Trump and his administration floated a ban.
The same thing happened a while back, Haley Kowtko, 19, of California, said via text message. There are not many people talking about it, especially on the app. I haven't seen anything about the app being banned. That is not to say that some people aren't reacting to the app. There were more than 93.2 million views on the hashtag DontBanTikTok with videos dating back to 2020 and others uploaded this week following reports of the Biden administration's move. A TikTok spokesperson confirmed Friday that a handful of creators are planning an off-app protest in Washington, D.C. for Wednesday, in order to bring their concerns to the Biden administration's doorstep.
The current sentiment among users is a stark contrast to the previous proposed ban by the Trump administration. At the time, one creator said they had never seen that many people talking about one thing on the app for so long. Kowtko said that because of the fact that we all freaked out before and nothing happened, no one is taking it seriously.
Jacqueline Metzger, 17, said she was surprised when she heard of the potential ban. She said that losing TikTok would likely give way to another new platform or make an existing platform more popular, just like TikTok filled the void left behind by the former short-form video app Vine.
If TikTok is banned, someone is going to come up with an alternative. There are already so many TikTok alternatives like YouTube shorts and Instagram reels, according to Metzger. It is everywhere, so I am not too worried about that. Some have already been branching out beyond TikTok to expand their following, and there is less of a fear among creators this time around.
I don't think this will happen soon or the near-term horizon, and the creators since 2020 have been really savvy about doing short-form videos on multiple platforms and doing short-form videos on multiple platforms, said Mae Karwowski, founder and CEO of influencer marketing agency Obviously. It is less damaging than the initial story of 2020. She said that the vibe on TikTok is cautiously optimistic. Marcus DiPaola, who has 3.8 million followers, noticed waves of panic pricking up among creators who feared losing their platform, according to TikTok creator Marcus DiPaola.
DiPaola said he is among the less worried crowd of users.
He said I'm on a lot of platforms. If TikTok was banned, it would suck, but I am not screwed. Other people on the app said they aren't worried because they think TikTok could be sold to a U.S. based company, meaning it wouldn't disappear completely.
I am not worried at all, said Gigi Robinson, 24, a motivational speaker and Gen Z content creator.
She referenced when Microsoft was in the running to acquire TikTok when Trump tried to ban the app.
She said she thinks the app will be around one way or another. I don't think it will be owned by ByteDance.