San Francisco influencers brace for TikTok ban
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
San Francisco's TikTok influencers are bracing for a possible ban of the app.
Why it matters: Local content creators and small-business owners depend on TikTok to build their brands and boost their bottom lines.
- San Francisco creators are among the platform's more than 1 billion users, which include content creators who rake in thousands of dollars.
The latest: A ban could go into effect as early as Jan. 19 unless the app is sold or the U.S. Supreme Court blocks the law.
Between the lines: Congress claims the app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, presents a national security risk. But TikTok and some influencers say the ban would violate their First Amendment rights.
What they're saying: For lifestyle content creator Stef Anderson, the app has played a crucial role in helping set up local meetups to make new friends that began when she moved to San Francisco in 2022.
- In the past two or so years, the 28-year-old has gained the bulk of her 35,000 followers for her videos on living in the city and what she loves most about it.
- Her presence on the app has "completely changed" her life, allowing her to travel and build brand partnerships, including a sponsored trip to Seattle with Alaska Airlines to attend a Sabrina Carpenter concert, she said.
- "It will be sad. It's something that I've worked at for years now and for that to just disappear is going to be really upsetting," Anderson said.
What's next: As the proposed ban heads toward likely approval, local content creators are shifting their presence to other platforms to ensure they have a backup plan.
- "There's going to be a huge push where people are going to go back to Instagram, and YouTube shorts are going to be huge," said local fashion and food influencer Kat Ensign, whose ultimate goal is to grow her presence on Instagram, her main social media platform.
- Although there are some "huge benefits as a content creator" with TikTok, like its tools and analytics, it's "otherwise not a huge money maker for me," Ensign said.
- While many influencers can switch to other apps, "it's the creators that have very big followings on TikTok and a disproportionately smaller following on Instagram that I'm really sad for," added Anderson.
What we're watching: How quickly the Supreme Court could make a decision on the law to ban the app.