Tik Tok Ban? Local content creators weigh in
Jan 13, 2025
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) - A ban on popular social media app Tik Tok could become reality in a matter of days, and now local content creators are weighing in on how a ban could affect their futures.
The ban will likely take effect if Tik-Tok's China-based parent company 'Bytedance' doesn't agree to sell the app to an American company by the Jan. 19 deadline.
"It's what I've built over time. I'm going to keep going until the end, but it feels really weird knowing that in a couple weeks, all of it could be gone," Caroline Godwin, a Savannah-based Tik Toker said. Another local content creator, Camila Rocha, said, "I feel like it's created a comfort zone for a lot of people to share their daily lives, to share their tips, to help people."
Many local creators said the sense of community they've built could potentially be lost along with the app, a loss they believe will ripple out.
"I don't think we even know the full impact this is going to have on people," Godwin said. "To a lot of people that don't make content seriously, it's like oh this is just a silly little app. It's like this is people's livelihoods. This is a way for people to support themselves.""People that have small businesses have been creating content and putting it out there," Rocha said, "creating their own communities, and that's going to affect them because TikTok is going to be shut down. So, if that was their main platform they would post on, where are they going to go now and where is that community going to go?"
Since the possibility of a ban became real, many have been asking what's next.
"Some people usually pick one or the other they focus on, a lot of people that are solely focused on TikTok I think that's going to affect them a lot," Sarah Parker, a Savannah-based influencer said. "I've tried with other apps. I've tried with Instagram. It's just not the same. My roots are so deep there, and it feels so shocking to just have that go away all of a sudden."
Still, local content creators say there has been talk about potential replacements for Tik Tok, with the intention being to move forward.
"The local community, I feel like we are all very close and we help each other out," Rocha said. "Through this hard circumstance and this ban, there will be a lot of support to each other coming out from this. So, I do think it's going to be a positive change."