The TikTok Ban Would Be Social Media’s First Extinction-Level Event

The Biden administration’s solicitor general, Elizabeth B. Prelogar, argued that Congress had every right to enact a ban, saying that the Chinese government could spy on Americans, in addition to their contacts, through TikTok. “It’s about trying to close off a vulnerability that a foreign nation’s adversary could exploit,” she said. Outside the courtroom, dozens of TikTok users rallied in support of the app. Given the January 19 deadline, the court is likely to make a decision next week—one that could have lasting ramifications on the future of social media for creators. If it goes into effect, it remains unclear if, or how, President-elect Trump will enforce the ban once in office.

“I would ultimately feel like I lost it all,” Dunn says when I ask him about the ban. “I don’t think people realize this is how I keep a roof over my head. It’s like people saying your company’s about to go out of business and you have zero control over it.”

In addition to brand deals, Dunn participates in TikTok’s creator rewards program, which pays creators with a minimum of 10,000 followers and 100,000 monthly views to make original minutes-long content. Between brand partnerships and money made through the program, Dunn, who is 30, tells me he averaged several “five-figure months” in 2024. “The loss of jobs and income from this is going to be far greater than the national security risks they are screaming about,” he says.

TikTok Shop, the app’s ecommerce feature, was a gamechanger for small business owners when it debuted in September 2023. After navigating a few early hiccups—which included, of all things, snail slime—TikTok Shop proved formidable; the app’s surge in vendors outpaced competitors like Amazon, which TikTok ultimately wants to replace (or at least dethrone). Beauty products and womenswear are often the highest selling items across the platform. According to Shopify, by 2023 12 percent of TikTok Shops were US-based, with 45 percent of Americans having purchased through TikTok Shop. In 2023, daily US sales topped $7 million.

Renee McClintock, a 29-year-old mother of two, is one of the app’s more tenacious entrepreneurs. You name it, she’s sold it: electrolyte packets, a cotton candy machine, iPhone cases, blue jeans, vaginal probiotic gummies. Last summer, a video detailing how much she’d made in a week—$4,764.63—went viral. McClintock declined to speak with me for this story—she only does paid collaborations, starting at $150, she wrote in an email—but noted that since July, through the affiliate program, her gross merchandise volume (GMV) was $600,000.

TikTok is not the only platform that allows creators to turn a profit, but it does seem to be the exception to the rule. YouTube, Instagram, and Twitch all provide various pathways for users to make money, whether through ads or affiliate links. But none of them have what TikTok has, says Jon Selman, vice president of influencer marketing at BenLabs, an agency whose clients include influencers Colin Keys, Savagemomlife, and Amaury Guichon.