COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – The country is bracing for a ban on TikTok after an appeal to the Supreme Court failed.
TikTok’s owners tried to argue that banning the app violated the First Amendment; However, the Supreme Court rejected that argument on Friday, paving the way for the ban on Sunday. The only other way to save the app now would be to sell it to someone in the US.
It’s a decision that has proven divisive, particularly among the app’s creators and users. Creators like Kurt Tocci argued that the economic and cultural impact of the app was too great to warrant a total ban on the app.
Tocci is from Colorado. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of working in television and film, but ultimately discovered a passion for posting content on social media.
“I kind of missed the whole social media train, like the beginning of everything,” Tocci said. “Then, as 2019 progressed, I threw myself into this adventure more and more and into more and more opportunities to create with other creators.”
Like many creators, Tocci said she saw a large influx of subscribers from content made during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
“I had the idea: ‘What if Disney characters were also in quarantine?’ because everyone was, and if all their songs were parodied in lyrics about COVID, that was the goal,” Tocci said.
After posting this video, Tocci said he saw his follower count quadruple over the next few days. From there, he said he worked to keep that momentum going, following that video with more content that people related to or could interact with.
“So I was able to grow simultaneously across all platforms consistently and that’s been the goal ever since, I’m always trying, that’s always the goal,” he said.
Although he has been able to expand across all social media platforms, he said TikTok has become a large and unique platform. Tocci said he was able to make money through TikTok, but most of his income and engagement came from platforms like YouTube and Instagram.
“I’ll shoot you, honestly, the numbers on TikTok, in my opinion, don’t matter. That’s not the case,” Tocci said. “It just doesn’t have to do with the numbers. It’s really about the community.
Tocci explained the format of TikTok. Most users, he said, engage with short-form content through the “For You” page, rather than through any page specifically designed for the users they follow.
“Unless your video is ‘worthy’ of the ‘for you’ page, it’s not going to be seen by 1.8 million people, that’s simply not the case,” he said.
Nonetheless, Tocci explained that TikTok has high viral potential, giving creators a valuable tool to get their name out there. Even more so, he said, as seen in 2020, it helps people establish a sense of community.
“So losing that, those are people’s opportunities.” Like I said, it’s about more than money, it’s about people’s escapes or their interests,” Tocci said, “it’s no different than taking out movie theaters, like you’re taking away an outlet that someone has in their life.”
He said it’s a method of sharing culture and community, as he often shares his own connections to Colorado culture.
“Colorado will always be home, that’s for sure, so I try to incorporate that as much as possible,” he said.
He also touted the app’s potential to boost the economy, providing a method of making money for video content creators, some of whom were able to rely on it during the pandemic, and many of whom rely on it now for additional income.
“People use this as income. It’s like taking away Uber, it’s like taking away Lyft. It’s like ‘oh, let’s go back to taxis,’” he said.
Tocci also explained the app’s potential applications for saving lives, as he said he saw with the recent wildfires raging in Los Angeles.
“People get their news from TikTok,” he said. “They do it, like at that point, if I have a natural disaster, I can pull up the movie from my phone about it, right then and there, and then post it and instantly people know about it. -the-field.”
He explained that the app has also brought increased awareness to certain movements.
President Joe Biden described the app as a threat to national security, thereby signing the ban; However, Tocci called this a moot point.
“Our phones are literally made in China,” he said. “So it’s like they want our information, bro, they’re going to get it, like they’re taking it. What do you want? Photos of my cat? Like, go for it.
Tocci said that was not reason enough to remove something that has proven to have such a cultural and economic impact, and while President Biden said the next administration will have to decide the future of the enforcement after the ban, Tocci said he hoped to do so. see the ban overturned.
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