‘Still in Denial’: TikTok Creators, Users in Massachusetts React to Supreme Court Upholding Ban
Wide-ranging emotions are being felt among TikTok users in Massachusetts after the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the ban that goes into effect by Sunday.
“This is going to impact three different groups,” according to David Richard, Founder and CEO of Big Fish PR. https://bigfishpr.com/ He’s also a professor at Emerson College.
That includes content creators or influencers, brands that use the platform to find and connect with customers, and general TikTok users.
“I’m still in denial,” says Taylor Higgins, an executive matchmaker and dating coach in the Massachusetts area.
Higgins has around 200,000 followers on TikTok and uses the app as a creative outlet where she shares her personal experience with toxic relationships. She also discusses her book, Between the Stitching, on the app.
“It’s my community of people, it’s like-minded individuals that’ve gone there for something. In my case, healing… to create,” explains Higgins.
It’s not just influencers looking at how their lives will be affected by TikTok.
High schoolers who use that app tell Boston 25 that they’re going to miss the jokes and memes being shared on the app, but some are focusing on the positive.
“I think there could be some good that comes out of the ban because I know I spend a lot of time on it,” says Giselli Deoliveria.
Deoliveria adds that it won’t be that bad for people her age since they will eventually find another platform to use instead.
Richard says people have already started latching onto a Chinese-owned app called Red Note. He calls it “TikTok on steroids.”
“For the people who love TikTok, I wouldn’t say this is necessarily the end. It’s a very fluid situation. There is definitely a possibility that a U.S. entity acquires the U.S. side of TikTok,” says Richard.
The parent company, ByteDance, must divest from TikTok by Sunday or it will be shut down.
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