Windsor creators brace for potential U.S. TikTok ban

How will Windsor-based content creators be impacted, if the US TikTok ban is imposed. CTV Windsor’s Travis Fortnum has more.

Windsor creators are caught in the crossfire of a looming TikTok ban in the United States.

The app’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, has until Jan. 19 to sell its U.S. operations or face a nationwide ban under federal law.

While Canada isn’t enacting a similar ban, Windsor-based users could lose their stateside audiences – and call that uncertainty is unsettling.

“A Godsend” for creators

For Windsor’s Shanna Marin, a.k.a Bird_Tails online, TikTok has been more than just a social media platform — it’s been a lifeline.

Sharing their passion for parrots, Marin has amassed 2.2 million followers on the app, the majority of whom are based in the U.S.

“It has been honestly a Godsend,” they said. “I’ve done fundraisers for a lot of charities. I’ve done fundraisers for my own birds.”

Content creation isn’t Marin’s main source of income, but it provides valuable funds to care for their parrots and other birds in need.

“It’s definitely going to impact me,” they explained.

While Canadians aren’t able to earn directly through TikTok the way Americans can with a so-called Creator Fund, Marin has been able to direct followers to paid creator platforms like Patreon and crowdfunding sites.

But as speculation about a U.S. ban grows, Marin said engagement is already dropping.

While Marin will still be able to use the app, the loss of American viewers means fewer financial opportunities.

“I’m not getting the engagement that I once did because people are more worried about TikTok going away,” they noted. “It’s definitely going to affect me.”

Financial freedom on the line

Windsor-born TikToker Aidan Wachter, known as “ChezAidan,” shares similar concerns.

With 6.6 million followers — 56 per cent of them in the U.S. — he credits the app for helping him build connections with celebrities and even meet his wife.

“It’s given me financial freedom,” Wachter said. “I’ve made videos with Michael Bublé. I’ve talked to Snoop Dogg; I’ve talked to Cheech and Chong. I’ve met my wonderful wife.”

Relying on content creation as his fulltime job, Wachter said losing TikTok would put a huge dent in his annual income.

“It’s disappointing,” he admitted. “It’s 170 million U.S. users affected by this, and that affects Canadians as well.”

Wachter is preparing by focusing more on Instagram, but the transition isn’t seamless.

“At this point, it does worry me,” he said.

How the ban will work

TikTok’s parent company is hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn the law that would ban the app from Apple and Google app stores.

If that doesn’t happen, no one in the U.S. will be able to download or update the app.

Without updates, TikTok will soon become unusable for those who downloaded it prior to the ban.

Canada hasn’t pursued a nationwide TikTok ban, but the app’s restriction on government devices has creators wondering what the future might hold.

While the app’s fate hangs in the balance south of the border, its ripple effects are already being felt across the Detroit River.