The clock is ticking. Will TikTok be banned in the United States or sold to another company? Last April, the U.S. Congress voted overwhelmingly in favor of a law that could lead to TikTok's possible ban. Specifically, its parent company ByteDance, based in China, must sell the American subsidiary of the social network by January 19, or the platform will face a ban in the country.
Since then, TikTok has achieved a preliminary victory in this battle. As of Friday, January 10, the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing the law's constitutionality and may temporarily suspend its implementation. However, this does little to reassure the many creators who rely on TikTok for their income. Approximately 10 million influencers in the U.S. could be affected by the platform's shutdown, and according to Goldman Sachs, 16% of influencers worldwide earn over 75% of their income solely from the short video platform.
Many influencers, such as Noah Jay Wood, who has over 7.2 million followers, express concern about their financial future. "TikTok is the foundation of all my platforms. Without the app, I would never have been able to grow on Snapchat or Instagram," he states. Other creators are looking to diversify their platforms and adapt to potential changes, such as shifting to Instagram or YouTube to maintain their income.
