Greenville, Spartanburg influencers react to US efforts to ban TikTok

Upstate influencers share concerns over possible TikTok ban

On Wednesday, the House approved a bill where ByteDance would be forced to sell TikTok or face a practical U.S. ban from app stores and web-hosting services if it is signed into law, according to a story in USA Today. The bill gained bipartisan support passing the House 352 to 65. The bill is now on its way to the Senate where its fate is uncertain, and on March 8, President Joe Biden said he would sign it should it make it to his desk. If signed into law, the bill would prevent app stores like Apple and Google from distributing or updating TikTok and web hosting companies from distributing it, according to an article in USA Today.

How SC representatives voted on TikTok

• Nancy Mace (R-1): NAY
• Joe Wilson (R-2): YEA
• Jeffrey Duncan (R-3): YEA
• William Timmons (R-4): YEA
• Ralph Norman (R-5): YEA
• James E. Clyburn (D-6): NAY
• Russell Fry (R-7): YEA

Bailey Lavender talks TikTok’s free mental health services

TikTok is not just an app where people do momentary trends. Greenville TikToker Bailey Lavender, 29, views it as a place where those struggling with mental health issues can connect. They can also receive support from mental health professionals who provide their services for free. Lavender has used the platform since 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, to create funny videos based on her experiences as a hairstylist. She has long been a voice of encouragement for her over 2.3 million followers, offering them advice on topics like weight loss, anxiety, and depression.

“A lot of people are laughing at the fact that so many Americans are worried about an app where they see people doing dances and such on there, but it’s so much more in depth than that,” Lavender said. “Small businesses are affected, people’s mental health is affected. Sometimes people don’t have the ability to get it ― their insurance doesn’t cover it, they don’t have the means to pay for it. There are therapists on social media out there who are giving advice for free to try to help them because not everything has to be paid for.”

McFarland, 29, who manages Lavender’s brand along with several others, has also weighed in on the possible TikTok ban. She is passionate about the subject because being a brand manager is her full-time job.

“My entire job is to make sure that whenever they (creators) do these marketing things that I have all this stuff lined up,” she said. “So if TikTok goes away, then my job is eliminated and I have to figure out another platform to help them, where these other creators go on, where we can do marketing.”

If TikTok were to be banned, Lavender is not sure what she would do when it comes to marketing. The social media site is the place that helped boost her brand, including her local hairstyling services.

Jorden Hall uses her platform for body positivity

Jorden Hall, a TikToker in Spartanburg, began her influencer career in March 2020 and has been using it to spread kindness, love, and body positivity. TikToking has been Hall’s full-time job. In December 2023, Hall went viral for resurrecting the “Angel Tree Trend,” a trend where people purchase items for children in need through the Salvation Army.

The TikTok ban will not only result in influencers, like Hall, losing their ability to spread awareness, share creativity, and empower others but will also take away their source of income, they say. Hall said her platform is used for women of different sizes, all over the world, to love and embrace each other.

“Social media can also be a very positive place and show the good in, not only people, but also the world,” Hall said. “On my platform, I represent women who have bodies outside of “normal” beauty standards, showing that we deserve a space to be celebrated and love the bodies that we are in. My platform is a safe space for women looking for confidence building, fashion advice, and body acceptance.”

If the ban does occur, Hall fears that women will not have a space to be represented. “If the White House bans TikTok, it will rip away an inclusive, body-positive space that women have longed for,” Hall said. “It will not keep me from speaking out for my fellow woman, that is for sure. I will always fight for the women who are typically put on society’s back burner. The White House wanting to ban TikTok is essentially taking away our right to free speech.”

As influencers arise, many people have used the platform as a full-time job. Users promote their businesses, services, and ideas through the platform, gaining new customers from videos they post, gifts from livestreams or are paid through the company to share their own ideas. Hall said that if the nation goes through with the ban, her career will be stripped away from her.

“If TikTok is banned, my career will be immediately ripped from me. It’s baffling that everything I have worked for over the years can be taken away with just a vote,” Hall said. “It will not only be my career but also millions of other content creators across the United States. TikTok has helped so many small businesses grow their reach over the years.”