With a law set to ban TikTok in the United States in January, the end of the short-form video app for U.S. users is on the horizon.
The legislation was signed into law in April. It stated that unless TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance divests from the app by Jan. 19, 2025, app stores and web hosting services would have to remove it from their platforms.
Thirty-nine states have already restricted TikTok on government devices, and the app has long been under fire for its ties to China, user privacy concerns and its potential to fuel or hide certain content, contributing to misinformation.
Though TikTok petitioned to overturn the law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the legislation. TikTok and ByteDance filed an emergency injunction on Dec. 9, asking for a temporary pause on the law to give the Supreme Court time to review the case. However, the appeals court rejected the plea on Friday.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to save TikTok, though his transition team has not released details as to how.
“The only reason they are getting singled out is because the connection to the Chinese government,” Lois Scheidt, an adjunct instructor at IU whose research focuses on digital ethics, intellectual freedom and social media policy, said. “To my knowledge, they are doing nothing that is significantly different than what Facebook does and X.”
Scheidt said the concern with TikTok was over the fact the U.S. government had no way to control how ByteDance, TikTok or China could potentially use user data.
“If they were looking long-term and really worried about users, then the answer is, we need data protection laws,” Scheidt said.
She is skeptical TikTok’s removal would truly impact internet culture long-term.
“Online platforms ceasing to exist, or ceasing for certain people to have access to them, is not new,” Scheidt said. “Some people will find a new home. Some people will choose not to, and some people will be resentful.”
IU has several influencers on the app in its student body, with some creating college-related and IU-specific content. IU Bloomington even has its own TikTok account with over 50,000 followers.
Ava Wilson is a sophomore studying media advertising who has been a TikTok user since it was called Musical.ly. Musical.ly was bought by ByteDance in 2017, then merged and rebranded to become TikTok. She began creating content after she saw Alix Earle’s “get ready with me” videos where Earle talked about her life while doing her hair and makeup.
Wilson said during her senior year of high school, she made Christmas gift guide videos under her account, @avaawilsonnnn, that started to gain traction.
“It really all took off, kind of like, I feel like the career out of it was when I started focusing on college content,” Wilson said. “Because a lot of companies right now are focused on collegiate marketing.”
Wilson now has over 30,000 followers, and her most popular video was viewed over 8 million times. Since gaining a following, she’s done gifted campaigns where companies send her clothes in exchange for videos showcasing the products. She’s also done paid campaigns and ambassadorships. She’s now part of the TikTok creator fund, a program that pays influencers two to four cents per thousand views.
As for a potential ban, Wilson said she wasn’t sure how worried she should be.
“I mean, we've had so many like scares of that TikTok is going to be banned, but I've heard this time it's a little more serious,” Wilson said. “I have thought about maybe doing like Instagram Reels more. I've only ever done Instagram Reels for brands, but I would be open to it.”
She said she preferred the convenience of TikTok over the formality of platforms like Instagram and YouTube.
“YouTube can be hard to like, navigate, and videos take so long to edit, whereas TikTok, I just kind of hop on and can post within minutes,” Wilson said.
YouTube currently boasts the most users of the three platforms with 2.5 billion, while Instagram has 2 billion and TikTok has 1.6 billion. While YouTube is known for its longer video content, and Instagram for photo sharing, the two platforms give creators the option to post short-form content with the release of Shorts and Reels.
Halle Hood is a sophomore marketing major who has over 50,000 followers on her TikTok, @halleberry111, where she posts mostly lifestyle, fashion and day-in-the-life content. She has nine videos with over 1 million views.
Since she started creating more content in 2023, she’s collaborated with companies including Bloom Nutrition and clothing brand Edikted. She’s earned sales commissions, as well as joined the TikTok creator fund.
“Being able to earn money has definitely helped me manage becoming independent as I entered my second year of college being off campus now,” Hood said. “For little things like groceries, gas.”
She said a ban wouldn’t affect her life “desperately,” but she could see it having repercussions for creators who depend on the app to make a living. If the ban were to go through, she said she’d likely switch over to YouTube.
“I don’t think the app’s culture will ever die down,” Hood said. “While everyone shifts to other apps, I think followers, creators and app developers will slowly adapt to creating another version of TikTok.”
