What will NC content creators do after TikTok ban? Here’s where they could go
With an impending TikTok ban just days away, people across the U.S. are soaking up what could be the last of days of scrolling through trending dances, cooking tutorials and now farewell videos — some from Charlotte social media influencers.
For many, posting online has become more than just a hobby and turned into a full-time job. Among them is local lifestyle content creator Sydney Bernhardt, who credits the app for allowing her to pivot her career path and quit her corporate job.
But aside from the individual impact on influencers now forced to brainstorm their next moves on other platforms, there’s growing concern about how small businesses could be hit from the ban, too.
“In Charlotte, specifically, I think it can really impact the small businesses here who rely on social media to get people in their doors,” Bernhardt, who also has her own social media management company, Sleek Social Club, told CharlotteFive.
“There’s going to be a huge shift in the influencer industry and the small business industry. I think it’s going to be harder for random small businesses to take off because they just went viral on TikTok one day.”
Take Annabelle Johnson, owner of Charlotte-based online boutique Homewurk, who said she owes 99% of her business’ success to the app merged with Musical.ly nearly 10 years ago.
“We will never be the same after this app as we were before this app. Before I was on this app, I genuinely feel like my business was surviving … It was just like your typical small business run out of a spare bedroom, kind of like a side hustle hobby, ” she said in a recent TikTok video about how the app helped get her products to several celebrities and to more than 50 boutiques across the U.S.
“I don’t think my business would still be in business today without this app.”
Time ticking for TikTok ban
The ban is expected to go into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, because of a new law that requires the app to break ties with its China-based parent company — which will axe access for more than 170 million users in the U.S., The Associated Press reported.
While TikTok fans are stuck in the limbo over what the future holds, many are wondering whether another existing platform could come out on top, like YouTube, Snapchat, Instagram, Lemon8 and even Xiaohongshu, also known as “RedNote” — another Chinese short-form video app. Days before TikTok’s ban, it even topped the list of most downloaded apps in Apple’s App Store, CNN reported.
Comparing social media communities and algorithms
Charlotte author Alissa DeRogatis, whose viral TikTok videos about her self-published debut on her college situationship landed her a book deal, has been using this time to tinker with her presence on other platforms.
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Though she’s been able to repurpose her top-performing content, she says it’s been different from the “curated community of people” who want to engage with her content on TikTok.
“There’s some different parts of the platform that others don’t duplicate, like [Instagram] reels or YouTube shorts…I just don’t think that [TikTok] algorithm can be duplicated on any other platform,” she explained.
“I just think people are showing more personality and they’re being more vulnerable because of the way that TikTok feels like a like-minded community, and it is overall a pretty positive platform.”
Cory Wilkins, who’s gained a large following for his Charlotte food account @thadailyspecial, agrees that TikTok “has the best discoverability” — especially for content that is often very localized to where you are. But with the ban, he also thinks creators and consumers will pivot to TikTok’s biggest competitors for their social media fix.
“There’s always gonna be a fight for those viewers, so I think you will see a lot of people migrating into the Meta platforms, so Facebook and [Instagram] reels naturally because it is the most similar, even though the algorithm is different,” Wilkins told CharlotteFive.
“It’s an entirely different vibe, so a lot of people don’t want to go over there. But I think, by default, a lot of people will have to if they want to continue making the same style of short form content.”
After losing Myspace and Vine, many are hopeful that maybe another social media app will eventually come into play.
“I think there’s gonna be some new platforms that do pop up that will be — I won’t say TikTok copies — but for a lack of a better word, very similar to TikTok that will try to capture that same essence and let people go on there, and pay creators and let people be more authentic and be rewarded for it with viewers and followers,” Wilkins added.
Is there a way to get around the TikTok ban?
According to The Washington Post, President-elect Donald Trump is considering an executive order to hold off on the ban for up to 90 days to allow time for a potential sale or alternative solution. Thursday night, the The Associated Press reported that a U.S. official said President Joe Biden won’t enforce the ban before he leaves office.
On Friday morning, the Supreme Court upheld the law banning the app starting Sunday unless it’s sold.
Though, the fight for TikTok’s fate likely isn’t over. Some users are working on downloading their saved videos and sharing tips on how to change location settings to access the app while petitions are being shared to save it from being banned.
Even if the ban goes into effect this weekend, the app would still likely be accessible for those who already have it, according to experts who spoke to ABC News. TikTok would be prohibited from app stores, making it unavailable to download for new users and impossible to update for those who previously did.
“If the app were not able to download updates, it would eventually become obsolete,” Qi Liao, a professor of computer science at Central Michigan University, told ABC News.
He went on, “If they really want to use it, the user will find a way to use it.” Some are already planning how to get around the potential ban with a virtual private network, or VPN service.
Others have even posed the idea of simply changing the country on your phone settings. But for iPhones, Apple’s website says you would have to cancel other subscriptions and get a payment method for a new country or region — a change you may not also be able to make if you’re part of a Family Sharing group.
Similarly for Android users, if you’re in a Google Family group, you can’t change your Google Play country or region, according to the support page. If you’re not, you can only change your country or region once a year, and you must be in and have a payment method from that area.
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This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 6:30 AM with the headline "What will NC content creators do after TikTok ban? Here’s where they could go."
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