TikTok’s biggest creators imagine what would happen if the app went away

polygon.com:

TikTok creators can’t seem to escape a maelstrom of policy and security concerns lately. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion national security package into law. Nestled inside it was the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, which gives TikTok parent company ByteDance 270 days to sell the platform or cease operations in the United States. Policymakers maintain that the bill is not a “ban,” but a way to get the China-based ByteDance to divest from TikTok. The battle over TikTok could play out in the courts for far longer than the roughly nine-month window before the deadline, but the uncertain future of the app has kicked up a fervor among its many creators, who depend on it for community, connection, and their livelihoods.

Over 150 million Americans used TikTok in 2023, and a potential ban — or other action that would radically change the app — would alter the fabric of modern American culture. It’s a hub for cute anime edits, the perfect four-ingredient salad recipe, tips on how to clean your home, other users’ personal diary entries gone viral, and, in contrast to Washington’s action, a place where lawmakers can speak directly to constituents. TikTok is home to a plethora of communities and conversations, and people who make content for the platform are having to contend with a potential end to it all. As creators and experts tell Polygon, TikTok is a nexus for audience building with ties to every other social platform, and losing it would erode the livelihoods of people trying to stay connected in a splintering online experience.

Casey Fiesler, a professor in the University of Colorado Boulder’s department of information science who has amassed more than 115,000 followers on TikTok herself with videos about the cultural significance of the platform, says TikTok’s greatest achievement is its recommendation algorithm. Compared to other apps, it’s “exceptionally good” at helping people find what they need —