“Most of these push notifications went to minor children, and these minor children were flooding our offices with phone calls,” Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois instructed CBS News. “Basically they pick up the phone, call the office, and say, ‘What is a congressman? What is Congress?’ They had no idea what was going on.”

Maybe TikTok gained’t quickly lose its relevance with younger folks in spite of everything.

That’s not what Krishnamoorthi is frightened about, however possibly he needs to be. Not as a result of all of these Gen Zers will sooner or later have the ability to vote, however as a result of TikTok is their lifeline to the world, they usually don’t know what a congressman is. TikTok is the place a number of younger folks have discovered their neighborhood, their voice, their earnings. Eradicating TikTok, like the killing off of Vine, rips up a bit of the social material.

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Kayla Gratzer, a TikTok creator in Eugene, Oregon, who had a current viral video concerning the mysterious pregnancy of Charlotte the stingray, famous that she would “hate to see the time, effort, and love gone into growing their platform be stripped away from them.” (Side notice: Without TikTok, I could by no means know if, or when, Charlotte has her pups.)

There can be one thing to the notion that some TikTokkers make a dwelling whereas additionally being part of the cultural discourse and zeitgeist. Alex Pearlman, recognized on the platform as @Pearlmania500, has constructed a big following because of his humorous TikTok rants. When I emailed him concerning the invoice, he famous that, because of TikTok, he’d been capable of launch a podcast, construct a neighborhood, and guide a nationwide comedy tour. It additionally supplied the earnings he wanted for the start of his son in December.

“If we had a functioning government,” he wrote. “I wouldn’t have had to yell on TikTok to be able to afford to start a family.”

What occurs subsequent with the TikTok invoice is one thing of a thriller. It must go to the US Senate, however the timing on that’s unsure. If it passes, President Joe Biden has stated he’ll signal it. Steven Mnuchin, the previous US treasury secretary, claims he’s assembling a group of investors to purchase TikTok if the measure goes by.

Watching all this unfold, I stored fascinated by one thing Norman instructed me. As a biracial, bisexual particular person, she’s discovered a number of her personal corners of TikTok and stays uncertain if she might simply up and create that on one other platform if the app will get blocked. Black folks and queer folks, she famous, already face censorship, so the query turns into, “Is there a future for me in America? That’s not really about how I am going to pivot on TikTok, but it’s more saying ‘Are there any areas in this country where I can exist?’”