ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Social media influencers are speaking out against a bill to ban TikTok in the U.S.
The bill passed in the U.S. House Wednesday and is headed to the Senate floor.
Kaelyn Kastle is an Atlanta-based influencer who has over 2 million followers on TikTok.
“I make music content and lifestyle content. I do of everything of everything,” she said.
Kastle has built a six-figure income creating social media content. She’s a part of Collab Studios ATL, a content creation studio in southeast Atlanta.
She says the loss of the TikTok platform would devastate her business, “My livelihood comes from social media. I know it’s a conception hard for people to grasp. At the end of day, it’s a reality for not just me but for everybody we’re feeding our families.”
Kastle is among a growing list of influencers nationwide who are rallying to stop the bill.
The bill would force TiKTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell to a different buyer or face a ban in the U.S.
Supporters of the bill have said the company poses a national security threat.
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Experts say there is still a long road ahead.
“First the bill needs to come to the floor of the Senate. Even if it gets passed, there may be legal challenges. Opponents may legally challenge the bill by citing that it violates the First Amsendment. Even if the bill prevails, the Chinse government will most likely block the sale of the company,” said Denish Shah, a marketing professor at Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business.
Georgia U.S. Senator Reverend Warnock and Jon Ossoff have not openly commented on the bill.
A spokesperson for Warnock’s office says language in the bill could change once it reaches the Senate.
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