US legislators are considering a TikTok ban. What do Memphis residents think about the bill?

Technically, it's not a ban.

But the passage of proposed legislation would require the immensely popular social media app, TikTok, to divest from its parent company, the Chinese-owned Byte Dance, within six months of passage — a tight timeline for a company worth billions.

Reactions to the U.S. House of Representative's passage of the legislation stormed across multiple social media apps, with questions about the ban's potential infringement on First Amendment rights and the actual need for such legislation dominating the topic.

Students from the University of Memphis, where TikTok is already banned from campus wifi following the passage of a 2023 law that banned the app on public university campuses, were no exceptions to these themes.

U of M student Ariana Abercrombie said that the U.S. has bigger issues to deal with than regulating the social media app, but the privacy concerns should be monitored.

"But also ... I feel like no one should have access to all of my information. But ... I don't put all of my information on social media for them to get it anyway," Abercrombie said.

Who voted to ban TikTok: See how your Representative voted in the US House Wednesday

Concerns about the company possibly being forced to give user information to the Chinese government have prompted legislation in both state and federal legislatures because of the national security risks associated. Ayana Little also said she gives limited information about herself to the app, and when prompted to agree to new user terms last year, she found a loophole around it.

"Around last year, it was like an agreement that we had to confirm in order to keep watching (videos,)" Little said. "For the longest time I would just close out the app instead of confirming because I've never read through the whole thing."

The policy Little is referring to was a complete overhaul of the community guidelines to the way hate speech was monitored, political content and artificial intelligence. These changes were made in response to the potential ban the social media app faced last year.

Ara Haniss, another student at the University of Memphis, said the ban could set a dangerous precedent for other social media and internet apps.

"I would be worried that it would set a precedent where I think it holds internet service providers accountable or something like that anyone who's allowing access to TikTok is sort of at in violation of the law," Haniss said. "If you could do that with other websites, that would be a concern...anything that would allow you to block information you don't like, I could see a problem arising there. Maybe if some administration is particularly draconian."

Economic boost undeniable, but the extent is unknown in Memphis

Since launching in the U.S. in 2018, the popularity of the app has grown at a blistering pace. Pew Research Center findings showed at least 33% of U.S. adults use the app, which is still far below the percentage of adults who use Facebook and YouTube.

But, several reports show that younger generations are using Facebook less and less and opting for Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, and TikTok. The usage of TikTok alone added north of $5 billion in tax revenue for the U.S. And the results of an Oxford Economics study, commissioned by TikTok and released in March 2024, estimate the app added around $24 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2023 and is responsible for around 224,000 jobs.

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It's not clear how big or small of a slice of the $24 billion Memphis has. But like most cities, Memphis has "creators" on the app who are able to cast a wider marketing net for their products, generate income just through their personalities or both.

Anecdotal stories like those of Memphis-area creators Astra Darling and Zion Israel Williams, aka StunnaRay, are examples of everyday Memphis-area people who made a small business of sorts through their personalities and interests.

The potential for more creators like Darling and Williams will exist as long as TikTok does, which isn't necessarily a bad thing for a city with higher-than-average poverty levels and few certain pathways to a middle-class existence outside of logistics, healthcare, and transportation.

Outside of TikTok creators and the potential for income, public and private entities also benefit from the app's promise of marketing ability in different ways. The Memphis Police Department, for example, uses its TikTok account to post recruiting videos.

Choose901, an unofficial campaign and advertising entity for Memphis, produces video shorts that sometimes send tens of thousands of "views" towards a business or event, raising their overall marketing profile.

In the same way the overall net benefits of TikTok are hard to sus out, so are the potential consequences a ban would impose. Either way, Memphians who benefit from the social media app must wait for the proposed ban to make it to the U.S. Senate.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

Brooke Muckerman is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: TikTok ban: Here's what people in Memphis think of the proposed law