A group of about 30 content creators gathered outside the nation\u2019s Capitol on Wednesday, holding signs that echoed their plea to lawmakers: \u201cKeep TikTok.\u201d
The TikTokers \u2014 who have a collective following of over 60 million people \u2014 joined Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., for a rally to discuss their opposition to a potential ban.
“I use TikTok to share a love of my family and our journey through foster care and adoption, and through that I’ve been able to create a community of people from all over the world,” TikTok creator Jason Linton, known as @dadlifejason, said while addressing the crowd. “I\u2019m asking our politicians: Don\u2019t take away the community that we\u2019ve built.”
The creator gathering in D.C. comes one day before TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify in Congress about the app.
NBC News confirmed last week\u2002that the Biden administration is considering a ban of TikTok in the U.S. if the app\u2019s Chinese owners refuse to sell their stakes. Critics of the app argue TikTok is a national security threat given its ability to collect data on its users, with some noting much of the user base is teens and young adults. That is countered by security experts who argue the app is no more a security threat than the many other apps that collect data and point to the lack of any broad U.S. data privacy regulations.
“My question is: Why the hysteria and the panic and the targeting of TikTok?” said Bowman, who has staunchly defended TikTok and denounced legislation to ban the app. “As we know, Republicans in particular have been sounding the alarm, creating a red scare around China.”
TikTok, he said, has “created a community and space for free speech for 150 million Americans and counting.” He also described the platform as an “educational tool” and a place where “5 million small businesses are selling their products and making a living.”
Pocan, who also addressed the crowd, said, “We have a real problem that exists, that’s happening with social media in general, with data, with disinformation.”
“That’s what we should be addressing,” he told the crowd, made up of mostly creators and press. “But \u2026 instead, the debate has gone to whether or not we should ban a single platform, and it’s getting lost on that rather than the very real issues that Congress should take on.”
Several creators who spoke to NBC News ahead of the rally said they felt motivated to spread awareness to lawmakers about the impact TikTok has on their livelihoods and communities. Many said that TikTok flew them to D.C. to participate in the press conference.
\u201cI want to stop the misconception that it\u2019s just an app. It\u2019s so much more than that,\u201d said Duncan Joseph, who has more than 4.5 million followers on his account, @duncanyounot. \u201cIf it were to be removed, these communities can\u2019t just go to another spot. This is the home \u2026 and you just can\u2019t rip that social fabric away from so many people.\u201d
Some creators pointed out that the administration itself has utilized the platform to help spread awareness to Gen Z users on various major policy initiatives. The administration, including Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, worked with top TikTok stars to encourage vaccination against Covid-19. More recently, the White House also briefed a handful of influencers about the United States\u2019 strategic goals in Ukraine, The Washington Post reported last year.
V Spehar, known as @underthedesknews on TikTok, was among the roughly 20 creators invited to the White House in September 2022 as part of the Biden administration\u2019s celebration of the\u2002Inflation Reduction Act. Spehar said the U.S. government changing its stance on TikTok has been frustrating for the creators, particularly those who were tapped by the administration to help disseminate information about various issues.
\u201cI think the White House certainly recognizes the importance and the reach this platform has, or I wouldn\u2019t have two letters sitting at home on my desk right now signed by Joe Biden saying how important my platform is and how proud he is of the work I do,\u201d said Spehar, who has become known for delivering the news in a short, digestible way.
Others, like Naomi Hearts, known as @naomiheartsxo on TikTok, said she wanted to let politicians know how the app has helped give a voice to marginalized groups.
\u201cI feel like, as a trans woman, being on this platform, I\u2019ve had opportunities I never would have had if I had not been for TikTok,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very disheartening to see people try to take that away.”
Hearts initially planned to use her platform for entertainment, but said she soon realized how important it was for her followers to see a trans woman who is thriving on the platform.
\u201cI do this because I want to be the representation I wish I saw growing up,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like the app is \u2026 a place where people come to feel a sense of humanity and a sense of togetherness and so it really is disheartening to see [a possible ban] but I hope our stories help to change their [politicians\u2019] minds a bit.\u201d
Hearts said TikTok has also given her the ability to be a full-time content creator, making $50,000 in her first year on the platform and $100,000 in her second year through brand deals.
On Tuesday, Chew directly appealed to TikTok users himself, posting a video to the platform.
\u201cSome politicians have started talking about banning TikTok,\u201d he said in the video. \u201cNow this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you.\u201d
He is expected to share a similar message in his appearance before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Thursday morning, according to his prepared remarks. He also plans to argue that the social media platform is safe and secure for teenagers and other users and that it won\u2019t be accessed or influenced by the Chinese government.
The Biden administration\u2019s possible ban isn\u2019t the first time the app has been threatened by a U.S. president. In 2020, then-President Donald Trump announced he would ban TikTok. That ban never came to fruition.
Content creator Aidan Kohn-Murphy, known to his almost 300,000 TikTok followers as @aidanpleasestoptalking, said a ban could have political ramifications for the Biden administration.
\u201cWhen Trump threatened to ban TikTok, young people mobilized. It was one of the big factors of youth turnout in 2020,\u201d Kohn-Murphy, who also runs the account for youth political group @GenZforChange, said. \u201cI think young people are already disaffected with politics in a lot of ways, and I think this is going to build on that.\u201d
Currently, TikTok is banned from federal devices and some states have followed suit. Several public universities in the U.S. have also banned the app from their devices and Wi-Fi. Some governors have also banned TikTok on state computer networks, while the Justice Department and the FBI are investigating TikTok and its parent company ByteDance, including allegations that company employees\u2002spied on journalists.
The platform has ramped up its public relations offensive in response to the blowback. As NBC News reported in January, senior executives at the popular video app and their lobbyists have been briefing members of Congress, academic researchers, think tank writers and others about a $1.5 billion effort that they call Project Texas, laying out details of how TikTok believes it can address the concerns of people who see it as a security threat, according to people who said they had been briefed and media reports about the lobbying.
Before the rally kicked off Wednesday, Spehar said they and several other TikTokers attempted to meet with members of Congress to make their plea directly to those who could ban the app.
TikTok spokesperson Jamal Brown said in an email statement that he believes Wednesday\u2019s rally will give lawmakers debating a ban on the platform a chance to \u201chear firsthand from people whose lives would be directly affected by their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n