Tiktok, an application created in September of 2016, has become one of the most popular applications in the United States, with 40 languages, a global audience earning over 100 million active users as of the first quarter in 2022 respectively.
Created by the Chinese company ByteDance, developed by Beijing Microlive Vision and Technology Co., Ltd., the popular app was launched originally under the name A.me, before rebranding to Douyin in December 2016.
The creation and origin story of the application is remarkable. Douyin was developed in only 200 days. Within a year, it boasted 100 million users with more than one billion videos viewed daily.
On TikTok, content creators have the ability to create a following, build an audience, earn a substantial income based on views and popularity which is assisted by the algorithm of the application.
That algorithm is just one small factor in question as to how it influences the most popular viewership, ages 18-24. Many concerns have been in question during the hectic four year battle over the Internet application, which has led to new legislation.
“For years we’ve allowed the Chinese Communist party to control one of the most popular apps in America that was dangerously shortsighted,” said Senator Marco Rubio, of the Intelligence Committee(R). “A new law is going to require its Chinese owner to sell the app. This is a good move for America.”
With this new legislation, the United States is facing a pretty heavy hit to the social media industry if TikTok ends it’s highly successful run. Let us not leave out the hit to our first amendment rights, as many argue.
This sudden change in legislation cannot help but bring the reader back to August of 2021, when OnlyFans made many fear for our content and livelihood. The popular application OnlyFans stated it would be removing all NSFW content. In a pure panic, content creators made a mad dash with discounts, ads and sales on their private pages. Although the decision was reversed within a week, many content creators lost faith in the company, fearing the worst for the future. This brash decision was allegedly caused by payment companies and banks pushing for the removal of “sexually explicit content.”
The TikTok situation is not nearly the same. This is not a company decision. The full-fledged banning of TikTok has come from the United States government. The potential of the complete removal of TikTok has content creators hustling, scrambling as many did during the August 2021 OnlyFans dash, yet this is not attributed to the above listed content. This does not only affect those in the Adult Industry but rather social media in its entirety.
The loss in the United States of this application would be detrimental to its creators. Many in the Adult Industry heavily utilize TikTok for business purposes to expand their popularity and followers. The future of the application is unknown. All we can expect is change. Change is coming.
In legislation passed and signed late April by President Joe Biden, the possible banning of the widely popular application TikTok is looming. In what is now being called the divestment-or-ban-bill, the Senate agreed with the President in a 79-18 large scale vote for the company to either change ownership or lose streaming abilities in the United States.
The application, utilized by over 170 million in the United States, has provided lucrative business opportunities and careers for those looking to build a brand on social media.
TikTok’s algorithms show users a particular path as it guides them, video after video, engaging it’s audience for hours per day. The algorithms provide recommendations based on behavior, thus pushing videos viewers may want to watch.
This has become a crucial tool for content creators. As this legislation has officially been passed, changes are indeed approaching without a doubt.
United States officials began raising concerns about the application in 2020, pushing the government to do extensive research on the security, safety of the program and it’s algorithms. These concerns come from American citizen security scans amongst other issues.
The American Civil Liberties Union weighed in on the matter, stating banning/divestiture of TikTok would “set an alarming global precedent for excessive government control over social media platforms. …If the United States now bans a foreign-owned platform, that will invite copycat measures by other countries.”
The bill, which is now official US law, states TikTok must find a new owner, sell the application to the US or face being banned in it’s largest market.
A major question content creators are raising is how much time do we have? According to most recent legislation, within 9 to 12 months a decision must be made. In another source made available just last week, original legislation required only a 60-day window for an agreement. Yet another outlet stated a 280 day window for decision with a 3-month extension if an agreement was visible. When will the US content creators be told the exact time frame as to when decisions must be made? You can expect multiple appeals, a significant amount of changes to legislation and a whole lot of confusion.
TikTok plans to challenge the bill on First Amendment rights. Users of the application are expected to take legal action. To put it lightly, you can expect to see this newly passed legislation and all information globally recognized as the days get closer and closer to decision making.
The bill will provide the White House new tools to ban or force-sale other foreign-owned applications if it is deemed to be a security threat. To date, the main concern on the rise these past 4 years is a major security threat to American citizens and their personal safety via the internet.
Over the next few months you’ll hear about what is to come. Different dates and time limits for decision making has been changed and reported repeatedly by different news and media outlets. The legislation will be challenged. Appeals will be brought to motion.
This is not a battle but rather a war. Question is, what’s this war over? Is this over our first amendment rights, our security, our freedoms or is it simply the internet and the impact the internet has on young voters? That’s for the reader to decide. Check back with AAA for weekly updated informative articles on the matter.
What A Brave New World we live in.
Article by Rebecca Leo. Adult All Access co-owner, copy editor, investigative journalist. Miss Leo started with NBCS in sports journalism, moving into the adult industry in 2021 after 20+ years experience in journalism. She can be reached @veccasalt.com.
