Republicans plan a nationwide ban on TikTok with thousands of creator careers at risk — Senate could hear the bill

A nationwide ban on TikTok has been proposed by Republicans, putting the careers of thousands of influencers and content creators in jeopardy.

A stock photo of the Capitol Hill.Photo byMIKE STOLLonUnsplash

Republicans have advocated for the implementation of a nationwide ban on the use of TikTok, which would put the jobs of thousands of content creators and influencers in peril.

One Republican, known for his hawkish stance toward China, Senator Josh Hawley, announced that he would introduce legislation to make it illegal in the United States to use the short video app TikTok.

TikTok, whose parent firm is the Chinese company ByteDance, is already subject to a prohibition that would prevent federal employees from using or downloading TikTok on government-owned devices.

This could see the careers of thousands and thousands of influencers, User-Generated content creators and other established celebrities come to a halt should this bill ever become a success.

There have reportedly been no updates yet on when this bill will get its day in front of Congress or if it will come to fruition.

State and federal officials have expressed deep concerns that Chinese authorities could gain access to sensitive American data and information through the use of the app TikTok.

Over the past month, several public colleges and universities in multiple states have announced that they will block access to TikTok on-campus Wi-Fi networks and devices.

At least 30 additional states have implemented restrictions on the use of the app on government devices, either entirely or partially.

As part of the effort to fight security concerns relating to the social media business TikTok, the Senate unanimously approved legislation back in December that would ban the use of TikTok on phones and devices used by the government.

This decision came at a time when state governments, particularly those governed by Republicans, were taking steps to restrict the use of the app on smartphones controlled by the state.

More states have initiated legal action against TikTok, and eleven of these occurrences have occurred since the beginning of this month.

More influencers and other digital creators have been encouraging their followers to check them out on other platforms, such as Instagram and YouTube, which U.S.-based companies own.