Central Ohio TikTok creators prepare for loss of income after app ban
Jan 17, 2025
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- TikTok may be going dark on Sunday after the Supreme Court upheld a law requiring TikTok’s parent company to divest from the app.
With the decision, the TikTok ban is set to take effect on Sunday. Many Americans use the app daily to watch videos on pop culture, travel, food and more, but the ban would arguably have the biggest effect on the content creators who rely on income from TikTok.
Among content creators based in central Ohio is user Jackie Mitchell, who makes videos about living on a budget. Although TikTok isn’t her full time job, she said she made good money from her content creation.
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“TikTok is supplementary income for my husband and I,” said Mitchell. “So I get paid monthly through TikTok and it’s been a really nice boost. It helped us last year be able to save up for a house actually.”
Mitchell said TikTok is unique and it’s much easier to reach a large number of people on the app compared to other social media sites. Mitchell and a number of other content creators may be starting from scratch come Sunday.
“I would say that while it’s not the income that I live off of, it helped us reach a lot of our financial goals so we definitely will miss it. Absolutely,” said Mitchell.
Megan Carver runs the account @meganincolumbus and makes videos about hidden gems in central Ohio. Carver doesn’t make much money off the app, but she said she uses TikTok every day to consume content.
“I learned so much like how to take care of my house and travel inspiration. I love to travel and I always make my itineraries for travel from what I see on TikTok. Cooking videos, exercises,” said Carver. “Part of me is still in denial honestly that something is going to happen.”
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It’s not just the content creators who will be affected. Annie Dickson owns Bite This By Annie, a goth-inspired bakery in Clintonville.
“Because these people are discovering me on their For You Pages and they’re local to Columbus, it gains me a considerable amount of traffic,” said Dickson.
She said her small business will definitely be affected by the TikTok ban, both in exposure and finances.
“To put it in perspective, the same video on TikTok has close to 700,000 views and the same video on Instagram has, like, 7,000,” said Dickson.
These local content creators said they plan on moving to other platforms to continue making videos, but they said it won’t be the same. They also said they don’t expect to reach the same number of people as they do on TikTok.