BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – U.S. lawmakers are considering banning the popular social media app – but where would that leave Vermont creators?
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh whether to ban TikTok out of fear that the Chinese-owned app poses a national security threat.
However, some Vermonters worry a ban would send their business backward.
Rebecca Ruplin of Fiddler’s Green Farm posted her first TikTok on a whim a few years ago.
“I was like, okay, I don’t know. I’ll try it. Why not? I mean, I’ll take some dumb videos of my chickens or something,” said Ruplin.
Those ‘dumb’ chicken videos – and other content showcasing life on her Plymouth, Vermont based farm – gained traction.
“7,000 or 8,000 people just randomly followed me overnight. I woke up, I was like, oh, okay,” she said.
Today, she has over 21,000 followers. She says they keep her afloat through the winter when farm stands aren’t an option – buying canned goods and apothecary items.
They also connect her to a vast web of fellow farmers.
“You realize, oh, someone else that I know that’s in northern Vermont, or even somewhere in California, has the same experience. So there’s like a whole community on there,” said Ruplin.
Every month, 150 million Americans use TikTok.
Other Vermont businesses like World Cow and Golden Dog Farm draw online customers and even tourists via TikTok.
With the fear that TikTok’s Chinese owner Bytedance poses a national security risk, they have until January 19 to sell before Tiktok is banned in the US.
On Friday, the Supreme Court will consider the ban.
Experts say the decision in Washington could be felt by small, rural creators.
“Any sort of disruption to that has an impact, and it for a business in Vermont could be felt much larger than somewhere else that’s got a much more diverse population,” said Meaghan Meacheam of Vermont State University.
Ruplin is on other social media apps like Instagram but says TikTok reaches a more diverse audience. She hopes the app is here to stay.
“It would definitely hurt my online sales a little bit, I think, like having people that know me from prior to if it gets banned. I would be a little sad,” she said.
Several people, including Sharktank’s Kevin O’Leary, express interest in buying TikTok’s U.S. assets – though no deal is set in stone.
