Local creators react to potential TikTok ban

SANDUSKY — TikTok helped make her dream a reality. But for Sandusky native Taylor Ohly, that dream of making it big was shattered, albeit briefly, when the social media app was banned this past weekend. "Deep down I was really upset because it took me a lot of time to get to where my account is now," Ohly said. "I have been playing pretend influencer since 2018, and TikTok has healed my inner child." Ohly, who goes by the username @toshizzle on TikTok, has amassed roughly 29,000 followers and has accumulated almost 3 million likes across all her videos. When the news first emerged that the U.S. government was considering banning TikTok, Ohly said that she and many others felt anxiety over what might happen. "I had no idea what to believe. I kept telling myself, I'll believe it when I see it," Ohly said. "I kept thinking of the worst-case scenario." It's a sentiment no doubt shared by the millions of U.S.-based TikTok creators who lost access to the app for less than 24 hours on Sunday, including those who live in the Sandusky area. What happened? TikTok, a popular social media app that allows users to create and watch short videos, has been scrutinized by federal lawmakers for several years. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns that the app's China-based owner, ByteDance, could provide Americans' user data to China's authoritarian government. That effort culminated with an ultimatum to ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation or be blocked in the country. The deadline to do so expired, and the app went dark for Americans this past weekend. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order delaying TikTok's ban for another 90 days, and the app has gone back online. Several local TikTok creators shared their thoughts on potentially losing access to their online presence. A fun pastime Ohly views TikTok not as a job, but as a fun hobby. She particularly enjoys the opportunity to work with world-renowned brands. "It is just really cool when a brand that you love wants to send you something," Ohly said. Some TikTok users can get paid money each time their videos get viewed by other app users. This includes Ohly, whose content primarily covers beauty and fashion. She said that TikTok provides her income through brand collaborations, views and partnerships. Ohly added that if TikTok were to get banned again, she would be sad for the users who rely on it the most for income. But Ohly said that if a ban were to stick, she has hopes that something even better than TikTok would eventually replace it. 'I have worked really hard' Another Sandusky-based content creator, Paul Reich, who goes by the username @dxkramer1981, also treats his TikTok presence as a hobby. Reich mainly posts videos in which he cosplays well-known characters, such as Belle from "Beauty and the Beast," Princess Peach from "Super Mario", Mother Gothel from "Tangled" and the Evil Queen from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." Reich, who does not receive any income from the app, said that he sees the app strictly as a hobby and was upset at the prospect of losing some of the friends he made through the platform. "TikTok being banned wouldn't have a dramatic impact on me financially, but it would definitely suck because I have worked really hard to build my platform to get to this point," Ohly said. For TikTok creator and Sandusky resident Kelsi Wilcox, who goes by the username @gantythegreat, losing TikTok would mean the loss of some supplemental income, even if it's not something she relies on. "It's still really nice to have that little extra money," said Wilcox, whose videos mainly consist of her cats and video game-related content. "I do have a full-time job outside of TikTok, so financially, I would be fine." If TikTok were to be banned in the future, Wilcox said she would miss being able to use the app to discover new places that she would otherwise not know about. Future of TikTok Although the future of TikTok is uncertain, local content creators have said they will move to other platforms if needed. Ohly added that she believes TikTok is here to stay simply because so many people were devastated that it was gone, even for a few hours. Wilcox said the fact that TikTok did go down, even if it was for less than a day, served as a warning for the future. "I am very apprehensive and actually worried since it did go down for like 15 hours. I was not expecting it to actually do anything," Wilcox said. "I am not thrilled about it, and it does make me a little worried. I have to diversify where I put my content." Both Reich and Wilcox believe that if the U.S. government is worried about TikTok being a security threat, they should also be worried about other apps and look into them. Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.