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Alex Pearlman shut the door on dreams of a standup comedy career almost a decade ago, pivoting from the stage to an office cubicle where he worked a customer service job.<\/p>\n
Then he started posting random jokes and commentary about pop culture and politics on TikTok. Just over 2.5 million followers later, he quit his nine-to-five and recently booked his first nationwide tour.<\/p>\n
Pearlman is among the many TikTok creators across the U.S. outraged over a bipartisan bill\u00a0passed by the House of Representatives<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner, ByteDance, doesn\u2019t sell its stake. The bill still needs to go through the Senate, where its prospects are unclear.<\/p>\n Content creators say a ban would hurt countless people and businesses that rely on TikTok for a significant portion of their income, while also arguing TikTok has become an unrivaled platform for dialogue and community.<\/p>\n Pearlman, who lives outside Philadelphia, said TikTok has transformed his life, allowing him to live a dream, provide for his family and spend the first three months of his newborn son\u2019s life at home. His customer service job only offered paternity leave equivalent to three weeks off, with two weeks paid.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t take a day for granted on this app, because it\u2019s been so shocking,\u201d said Pearlman, 39. \u201cIn reality, TikTok has been the driver of American social media for the last four years. Something will step into that place if TikTok vanishes tomorrow. Whether or not that will be better or worse, Congress has no way of knowing.\u201d<\/p>\n TikTok, which launched in 2016, has skyrocketed in popularity, growing faster than Instagram, YouTube<\/a> or Facebook<\/a>. The\u00a0push to remove the app from Chinese authority<\/a>\u00a0follows concerns from lawmakers, law enforcement and intelligence officials about the insecurity of user data, potential suppression of content unfavorable to the Chinese government and the possibility that the platform could boost pro-Beijing propaganda, all of which TikTok denies.<\/p>\n To date, the U.S. government hasn\u2019t provided any evidence showing TikTok shared U.S. user data with Chinese authorities.<\/p>\n The move comes as the pandemic saw huge growth in digital marketing as people were stuck at home consuming \u2014 and creating \u2014 content at levels not seen before.<\/p>\n Jensen Savannah, a 29-year-old from Charlotte, began making TikToks of her travels around the Carolinas during the pandemic. Now a full-time influencer, she has tripled her income since leaving her telecommunications sales job.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2019Social media Influencer\u2019 is almost to be looked at as the new print and the new form of radio and TV advertising,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to bring your dollar much farther than it is in traditional marketing.\u201d<\/p>\n Some creators describe it as a digital equalizer of sorts, providing a platform for people of color and other marginalized groups to get opportunities and exposure.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always had Twitter<\/a>, I\u2019ve had Facebook, I\u2019ve had Instagram. But TikTok was the first one where, if you want to find somebody who looks like yourself and represents you in any type of way, you can find it,\u201d said Joshua Dairen, a Black, 30-year-old content creator in Auburn, Alabama. Dairen makes videos about his state\u2019s ghost stories, urban legends and history.<\/p>\n Growing up, he loved researching everything paranormal, but he didn\u2019t see a lot of Black representation in the field. Exposure on TikTok has led to jobs writing freelance pieces and contributing to documentaries about paranormal occurrences and unsolved mysteries. The app also gave Dairen the flexibility and confidence to open his own coffee shop, where he gets visits at least once a day from fans of his work.<\/p>\n He thinks banning TikTok sets \u201ca dangerous precedent about how much power our highest levels of government can wield.\u201d<\/p>\n Others say the app is both a financial and social safety net.<\/p>\n Chris Bautista, a food truck owner in Los Angeles catering to television and movie sets, started using TikTok during the pandemic to connect with members of the LGBTQ+ community and show support for those who might be having a hard time.<\/p>\n Bautista, 37, grew up in a conservative Christian community outside LA and didn\u2019t come out until his late 20s. As a young person, he struggled with his mental health and considered suicide. He wanted to create a platform he could have used as a teenager, one showing that someone like him could go to that dark place and come out the other side a \u201cwell-adjusted, confident person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI just find the corners of TikTok that I find myself in to be so wildly important and profound,\u201d according to Bautista, who said it would be \u201cheartbreaking\u201d if the app was banned.<\/p>\n Bautista didn\u2019t start posting with the intention of monetizing the experience, but money from projects tied to the app came at the right time: If it wasn\u2019t for the extra income he earned through TikTok during the pandemic and then the\u00a0Hollywood strikes<\/a>\u00a0last year, his business would have shut down.<\/p>\n