'TikTok is our most pressing concern?' Creators fear livelihoods at risk with potential ban

As the Supreme Court considers arguments Friday over whether TikTok can be banned in the U.S. later this month, millions of American users await the verdict with bated breath.

Among those most anxiously awaiting the ruling are small business owners and full-time creators who use the app to make a living, a population that drives billions of dollars in business, according to research released by TikTok and Oxford Economics.

The case, which has become a landmark moment of free speech versus national security, began in early 2024 when President Joe Biden signed an act to make TikTok illegal for distribution in the U.S. if ByteDance does not sell the platform by Jan. 19, 2025. Under a ban, the app would be illegal for distribution through the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Supporters of the ban say the app presents a grave threat to national security and allows China to gather data on Americans or push out pro-Chinese content. TikTok's supporters, on the other hand, argued the ban would deprive users of their preferred digital publisher, infringing on their right to free expression.

Live updates: TikTok ban at the Supreme Court

'TikTok is our most pressing concern?'

TikTok creator @dutchdeccc got to the heart of what many users are feeling in a video that has gained nearly 10 million views since being posted last year.

"Can we get affordable housing? No. Can we forgive student loans? No. Can we raise the minimum wage while corporations receive record profits? No," he begins.

He goes on to list a litany of other social, economic and political issues that he and other supporters feel should be more deserving of attention than banning the social media app.

"Can we at least watch videos on an app of people doing fun things and learn about the world around us? No," he continues.

This train of thought ? that a TikTok ban should not be such a high priority for U.S. lawmakers ? has been shared and re-shared in videos by creators large and small and echoed in the comments of many videos discussing the ban.

"It's the dumbest (expletive) I've ever heard," well-known influencer and makeup artist James Charles said to NBC in an interview at the 2024 GLAAD awards. "Starving people are dying, people are in jail for marijuana (expletive) charges, we're in a war that we should not be in in the first place and TikTok is our most pressing concern?"

Users say free speech, education and community will be stifled

Echoing the primary argument TikTok is presenting in front of SCOTUS, users have also contended that access to the app is an issue of free speech and access to information.

"Never realized how serious information control is in our country," said one popular comment under a video posted by @aaronparnas1. "Thought we were the 'land of the free.' Now I see to be at the top in this world, you gotta be corrupt. There’s no way around this."

"I got notices from hospitals and ATT, even my mortgage company that my data has been stolen/leaked. it’s NOT about us or our privacy. It’s about stopping us from spreading info amongst us," said another with over 13,000 likes.

Others argue that the free educational content available on TikTok has proven more useful to them than what is available on any other social media platform.

"None of the other social media apps are the same as TikTok. I've gotten more out of this app in the 4 years I've used it than I have in the 18 years I've had a FB account," said one comment with over 24,000 likes.

"I learned more in 6 months on TikTok than I have in all my years in school. I mean life skills. We have lost all concept of life skills. TikTok is giving that back and that scares the govt," said another.

Kiera Spann (@famousblonde), who is one of eight plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit to keep TikTok in the U.S., has used her platform to build a community and an advocate for sexual assault and abuse survivors.

"I have been an advocate against sexual assault and domestic violence on this platform since 2021 after a brutal domestic violence incident on my college campus where I used TikTok to bring awareness to that incident...and brought attention to that case, allowing the survivor to get justice," she said in a video about the lawsuit.

"I very frequently refer to my page and my comments sections as small 'Me Too' movements because so many survivors find solace in each other and in me and my page there," she continued. "And to take that away under the guise of a data security bill when we have so many American-made companies that our data is constantly sold to foreign agencies....is horrifying to me."

Livelihoods and small business revenue at risk

One of the most obvious and potentially immediate impacts of the ban is the wide-reaching economic repercussions. Small business owners have been specifically vocal about this concern.

Callie Goodwin, owner of account @theloseitlog, said she flew into Washington, D.C. from South Carolina with her friend and fellow TikTok content creator Sarah Baus to watch the oral arguments on Friday. Goodwin, 30, and Baus, 27, both said they rely on TikTok for their livelihoods.

Goodwin, who owns a small greeting card and personalized gift store called Sparks Of Joy Co, said the vast majority of her sales come from people who find her business on TikTok. Several months ago, during the height of the holiday gift-shopping season, she said she sold over $30,000 worth of products on the app in just nine days.

“If we were to lose TikTok, I really fear for the survival of my business,” Goodwin told USA TODAY's Karissa Waddick while waiting in line Friday morning. She argues that TikTok’s unique algorithm allows small businesses like hers to flourish in a way other platforms, like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, don’t.

“We've got 115,000 followers over on TikTok. We've got, like, less than 3,000 (followers) combined between Instagram and Facebook,” she said. “To have that entire community, that customer base and that ability to reach our target audience wiped out would be devastating for my business.”

A 2023 Oxford Economics study, produced in collaboration with TikTok, found the platform contributed $24.2 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product that year, while also supporting 224,000 jobs. It also found that out of 170 million total active U.S. users, more than 7 million were businesses.

TikTok itself also shared a 2024 economic impact report that showed small businesses advertising on TikTok saw an 88% increase in sales, taking in a total of $15 billion. The report also said that 52% of small businesses rely on the app to stay competitive.

Creator @chloebluffcakes shared her own business success story, saying it was users on the app who encouraged her to pursue her real passion of baking. From there, she created Chloe's Giant Cookies, which became wildly successful and has since served cookies to celebrities like Jessica Simpson and enabled her to nab a cookbook deal.

"My dreams actually became a possibility and it was only because of TikTok," she said. "It was also because of TikTok that when my mom's brain cancer began progressing and I knew for a fact I was losing her, I was able to find help and my little sister was able to find help."

She goes on to explain that after her mom's death, the community she had built on TikTok was her primary support system as she took on caring for her young sibling on top of her own child and managing the overwhelming grief.

"So maybe, just maybe, reserve your judgment and start considering how many more women and families there are like me who had a dream and watched it grow here and they worked very, very hard to make it happen, and they will lose that," she finished.

Creating content for the app became the full-time job of a host of creators as well, many of whom have not found the same success on other platforms.

"What the hell am I going to do if TikTok is banned?" said user @eyegameuwatch, a gaming account with nearly 700,000 followers and 19.4 million likes. "Before I got on TikTok...I hated my (expletive) job. I was depressed, didn't know what I was going to do in life...I was broke, then I got fired."

"I sacrificed 18 to 20 hours a day on this app, grinding, putting out content," he continued. "Within four months of being on the platform, I was able to become a full-time content creator, I paid off all my debt, I was able to move."

"I became a success story through this platform and now due to no fault of my own...my livelihood would be decided based on them deciding to ban this app for good."

Contributing: Greta Cross, Karissa Waddick, Maureen Groppe, Bart Jansen, Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Creators say a TikTok ban puts livelihoods, small businesses at risk