TikTok Ban Confirmed: 5 Things Every Creator Must Do Before Sunday
We had a good run, didn't we?
See BBC article for full information on the Supreme Court ruling on the TikTok ban
I have been getting asked by so many about what my thoughts are on the TikTok ban. From friends and family to fellow creators and journalists. In a weird way, I just feel dissociated. I care but I don’t? I don’t have anything to say. The writing was on the wall for years and I shouted at the rooftops that TikTok was not going to sell so start preparing early, but it felt like no one took me seriously.
To me, TikTok always felt like a bad relationship that I knew would come to an end abruptly one day. As Taylor Swift once said, “Loving (them) is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street”
When I began working on TikTok for BuzzFeed in March of 2020, not only was the world dealing with a pandemic, but a few months into my job - Trump announced for the first time that he would seek to ban TikTok.
Since the summer of 2020, it has been a tug-of-war between TikTok and the American government. I always knew the expiration date was sadly nearing.
Like I have said before, even if TikTok doesn’t get fully banned, the back-and-fourth has huge implications across social media and the creator economy forever.
But as of Friday morning, the Supreme Court made the decision to uphold the TikTok ban that is set to go in effect on Sunday, January 19th, 2025.
TikTok has made it clear they do not plan to sell. They will disable their app in America at midnight on Sunday.
Hey, I respect it. They aren’t going to get bullied into selling and why should they? They were like the new kid on the playground with the new, cool toy and they refused to let the bully on the playground snatch it from them.
I posted an episode of the “Ahead of the Curve” podcast in November, which now feels like a definite foreshadow. I talked about how I noticed the TikTok employees at the annual creative summit seemed distant. Like when you put in your two weeks at work but still have to show up.
At least I got a cute pic from the seminar. Worth it!
The episode was aptly titled, “Stop trying to be a TikToker”. You can watch it here:
With the last 48 hours you have left on the app, here is what you should do if you are a creator who has a substantial following on the platform and don’t know where to turn next ⬇️
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