Photo Provided Full-time content creator Bellaire resident Amy Jackson poses at TikTok’s United States office in New York.

BELLAIRE — Sunday is shaping up to be a dark day for millions of Americans.

The popular Chinese-owned social media site TikTok will be banned from use in the United States unless the company is sold. According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a federal law banning TikTok beginning Sunday unless it’s sold by its China-based parent company, holding that the risk to national security posed by its ties to China overcomes concerns about limiting speech by the app or its 170 million users in the United States.

While some people are merely disappointed that they will no longer be able to scroll their phone watching short-form content, some individuals are frightened about their financial futures.

Bellaire resident Amy Jackson is a full-time content creator. TikTok is where she makes virtually all of her revenue.

Jackson began creating videos on the app in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic due to her excessive amount of free time during weeks of being stuck at home. Since then, Jackson has amassed millions of views resulting in brand deals, sponsored content and receiving money from TikTok’s Creator Fund, which allows users to monetize their videos and be compensated with a certain amount of money for each view.

“We went from welfare poverty Section 8 housing to buying our first home,” Jackson said of her newfound income.

She added that she and her family are nervous about the potential ban because TikTok is the reason they were able to pull themselves out of poverty.

“Part of the reason why I am so worried about this ban is we just bought this new home and it is my dream home, but without TikTok, we will probably have to sell it,” she said.

Jackson said she is a recovering addict and uses her platform to speak about her experiences in recovery. She also posts videos with her family.

“We first started out doing mom life stuff just trying to connect with friends and like messy house cleaning,” she said. “I also post stuff with life after addiction because I used to be an addict, so we have multiple niches we do.

Although Jackson is on other platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, etc., she said that TikTok is where she makes all of her money, and she has struggled to convert her following on the app to other sites.

“If the site goes dark we will migrate to other platforms but the money won’t be there, we won’t be able to make the money that we make now,” she said. “The unknown is scary. People give us up and then they take it away by saying this person’s going to save it then something happens and it’s just been such whiplash back and forth. It’s just complete anxiety for sure.”

Jackson said she wants people to understand that TikTok isn’t just videos of cute cats and people dancing. It’s a place where people can find their community and also make a living.

She added that during the worst month she’s had on the app she made $20,000. During her biggest month on the app, she earned $60,000.

“It’s like big life-changing numbers. They’re like ‘Just go to another app,’ and I can’t bring that in on another app. They don’t understand, I guess,” Jackson said. “It’s more than just an app to so many of us. We lived in Section 8 my whole life, and then we joined TikTok and quickly turned it into an income.”

She added that she also receives a lot of messages from people in active addiction who contact her saying that her videos are inspiring them to seek rehabilitation.

To support Jackson, her TikTok and YouTube accounts are @Amyjackson9213 and her Instagram account is @amyjojackson9213.

Another TikTok creator is St. Clairsville native Christian Clark.

Clark is a realtor who uses TikTok to showcase houses he has for sale while making informational videos for people who are first-time homebuyers. He works for Carol Goff & Associates Real Estate and does home video tours to amplify the traffic for the properties he has on the market.

Clark said that although his videos are a form of marketing for his job, he makes sure to make the videos fun and entertaining for people who watch regardless of whether they are interested in buying a home in the Ohio Valley.

“The thing about being a realtor is sometimes I only work an hour a day, so it’s kind of like what am I going to do with all of this other time? And that’s kind of why I started doing TikTok,” Clark said.

He added that the videos have been very effective in drumming up business for his realty career, and he is worried about the potential ban.

“It’s not going to be the best for what I do. I also pay for a photographer and an editor, so they won’t have a job. It’s going to put two people out of business, which is going to suck, but we’re going to find a new platform to shift our content for,” Clark said. “We do post on other platforms, but it just isn’t as good.”

One of the platforms he uses and will continue to use is YouTube Shorts, although he is unsure if the platform will be something that will be sustainable due to Clark being a smaller content creator and not chasing internet trends.

To follow Clark, his TikTok is @Christian_The_Realtor and his Instagram is @ChristianClarkRealEstate.

Unlike Jackson and Clark, Wheeling native Christian West is a full-time livestreamer. West primarily streams for hours while playing video games, talking politics and joking around with his chat.

Since 2020, West has built a family-like community and streams regularly on TikTok, Twitch and YouTube. Although TikTok isn’t his only source of viewership, West believes it is the platform that has allowed him to purchase his house.

“I was able to buy a house because of the boost I got from TikTok,” West said. “There’s no way I would have been able to support myself on Twitch to buy a house and support myself if it wasn’t for the continued cross-promotion of TikTok, whether that be posting my content on there or streaming on there. It’s been a huge way to garner new viewership for my stream.”

West added that although he is nervous that his viewership will decrease if TikTik is banned Sunday, he grew up as a child of the internet and realized no creator should put all of their eggs in one basket when it comes to a platform.

“I was lucky that I’ve seen a lot of people who lose a following on one platform and die out, so I’ve always tried to cross-pollinate my social media but there’s definitely a good portion of my following that is very ride or die for TikTok,” he said.

He added that in the time leading up to the potential ban, he has been trying to get the following he has amassed on TikTok to convert to watching his content on Twitch or YouTube. He is unsure how well he will be able to convince them to support him on another platform.

“I really feel bad for small businesses or anybody that’s been heavily relying on TikTok Shop or just relying on the following that they have on TikTok because it’s so hard to cross-pollinate on there,” West said.

To follow West on Twitch, YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, his username is @Christiantg92.