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The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a law effectively subjecting TikTok to a national ban on Sunday. The massively popular social media platform that is used by roughly half the country will be shut down, unless there's an 11th-hour lifeline from President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he can reach a deal to rescue the app. The Hollywood Reporter spoke to TikTok creators and asked how they're feeling about the Supreme Court's decision.
Transcript
00:00The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a law effectively subjecting TikTok to a national ban Sunday,
00:05and TikTok creators are sharing their reactions.
00:09The massively popular social media platform that is used by roughly half the country will be shut
00:14down, unless there's an 11th hour lifeline from President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he can
00:19reach a deal to rescue the app. In a ruling issued Friday, the justices concluded that the law isn't
00:25in direct conflict with the First Amendment because it's aimed at TikTok's ownership.
00:28The law directs ByteDance, the app's parent company, to sell TikTok by January 19th.
00:34If not, web hosting services and mobile app stores will be barred from carrying TikTok.
00:38The Hollywood Reporter spoke to TikTok creators and asked how they're feeling about the Supreme
00:42Court's decision.
00:43They're really officially banning TikTok. I am speechless. I could cry right now,
00:52but I'm keeping it together. Yeah, shock is how I feel.
00:55Unfortunately, I think it was expected, but I don't think it's fair. I don't think it's a fair
01:03interpretation of the Constitution. I think the TikTok ban is a violation of free speech.
01:08It just feels really frustrating because I feel like over the past couple of weeks, especially,
01:13there have been so many people, creators, fans of creators, voicing their opinions on this and
01:19trying to make sure that the app stays in the US. So it's frustrating because it feels like they're
01:24just not listening to the creators and the fans of creators and people are just putting in so much
01:30effort. So it's, yeah, it's sad, but still trying to remain hopeful.
01:35The CEO of TikTok, Sho Chu, gave users some hope when he shared a video in response to the Supreme
01:40Court's decision on Friday.
01:41I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok
01:47available in the United States. This is a strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary
01:53censorship. He ended the video like this.
01:56Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to ensure our platform thrives as your online home
02:02for limitless creativity and discovery, as well as a source of inspiration and joy for years to come.
02:09A ban would disrupt the income streams of hundreds of thousands of creators.
02:13Some spoke to THR about how the ban will affect them.
02:16This is going to affect our bottom line because TikTok is our biggest following.
02:20We have almost half a million and that's a big deal. And we've built a community on that platform.
02:25And now you're taking that away and we're just relying on YouTube and Instagram and Snapchat
02:30as our full number. And when you lose half a million of anything, it's going to make a big dent in your business.
02:36It's going to hurt me financially. It was a part-time job for me, but it helped me make ends meet
02:44and be able to save money. So I will definitely be hurting, unfortunately. But again, with all of
02:50the thousands of people, it's hard to just think of myself. There are like single moms that were using
02:56it. So it's just really sad all around. As for how those who financially relied on TikTok can move forward,
03:02social media experts, as well as some creators themselves, stress the importance of diversifying
03:06your revenue streams. It doesn't matter if you have a business that relies on TikTok or not.
03:11If you are a business owner and 50 or 80 percent of your revenue is coming from one single source,
03:17you need to diversify and think of other ways. Go to YouTube and go to Facebook because those are the
03:23two highest paying platforms. The best thing that you can do if you're a creator right now is to own
03:28your own platforms. I started off as a blogger, so I know it best. Like, have your own website,
03:33have your own email list, have your own text message list. For the latest updates on the TikTok ban,
03:38go to THR.com. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Tiffany Taylor.
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