Kasey Karlsen may not be a household name — yet. With 275,000 followers on TikTok, the metal vocalist has grown quite a presence on the platform.
However, now that a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate to ban “any social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern,” it could change her trajectory.
"It worries me a lot,” Karlsen said. “I've had a lot of wonderful opportunities come from TikTok."
On top of growing listeners for her band Deadlands and getting the opportunity to sing on stage with metalcore band Motionless in White, Karlsen and her band have received major label interest thanks to her online presence.
“If it weren't for TIkTok, that would never have happened,” she pointed out.
The mounting pressure to ban TikTok in the U.S. over concerns about the Chinese government has only been growing. On top of the proposed legislation, several states have banned government officials from using TikTok on their devices including Texas, Maryland, South Dakota, South Carolina and Nebraska. TikTok has denied any user data goes to the Chinese government, and said it has put several safeguards in place to ensure information and user behavior stays private.
“These recent announcements could add to political pressure for faster and tougher action at the federal level, which could change the way we and brands/advertisers use the platform in the US,” said Ellie Bamford, senior vice president and global head of media and connections at advertising agency R/GA. “Most influencers are not immediately concerned because it feels like the same flurry of political back and forth that happened in 2020 with Trump and his proposed ban.”
According to a poll by YouGov, about 30 percent of Americans surveyed strongly support a U.S. ban of TikTok. Only 14 percent strongly oppose it, and 23 percent remain on the fence. Four out of 10 people, however, believe it does pose a national security risk.
Karlsen says she’s not concerned about her data on TikTok, although she admits she doesn’t put her credit card information there.
“I really don’t care, but I can see why people would be worried,” she admitted.
It might be hard to let younger users let go of their TikTok habits. The app currently has one billion users globally. Forty percent of Gen Zers prefer searching for information on TikTok rather than Google, according to comments made by Google senior vice president Prabhakar Raghavan at Brainstorm Tech 2022. A Cassandra survey showed eight out of 10 Gen Zers rely on TikTok for entertainment, and 87 percent use it for news and information.
“The platform’s scarily-effective algorithm — which personalizes the videos shown based on users' interactions with content — delivers with pinpoint targeting. That results in more revenue, more views, more fans for influencers,” Bamford said. “No one is going to walk away from that quickly, despite the safety concerns.”
However, now that a bipartisan bill has been introduced in the Senate to ban “any social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern,” it could change her trajectory.
"It worries me a lot,” Karlsen said. “I've had a lot of wonderful opportunities come from TikTok."
On top of growing listeners for her band Deadlands and getting the opportunity to sing on stage with metalcore band Motionless in White, Karlsen and her band have received major label interest thanks to her online presence.
“If it weren't for TIkTok, that would never have happened,” she pointed out.
The mounting pressure to ban TikTok in the U.S. over concerns about the Chinese government has only been growing. On top of the proposed legislation, several states have banned government officials from using TikTok on their devices including Texas, Maryland, South Dakota, South Carolina and Nebraska. TikTok has denied any user data goes to the Chinese government, and said it has put several safeguards in place to ensure information and user behavior stays private.
“These recent announcements could add to political pressure for faster and tougher action at the federal level, which could change the way we and brands/advertisers use the platform in the US,” said Ellie Bamford, senior vice president and global head of media and connections at advertising agency R/GA. “Most influencers are not immediately concerned because it feels like the same flurry of political back and forth that happened in 2020 with Trump and his proposed ban.”
According to a poll by YouGov, about 30 percent of Americans surveyed strongly support a U.S. ban of TikTok. Only 14 percent strongly oppose it, and 23 percent remain on the fence. Four out of 10 people, however, believe it does pose a national security risk.
Karlsen says she’s not concerned about her data on TikTok, although she admits she doesn’t put her credit card information there.
“I really don’t care, but I can see why people would be worried,” she admitted.
It might be hard to let younger users let go of their TikTok habits. The app currently has one billion users globally. Forty percent of Gen Zers prefer searching for information on TikTok rather than Google, according to comments made by Google senior vice president Prabhakar Raghavan at Brainstorm Tech 2022. A Cassandra survey showed eight out of 10 Gen Zers rely on TikTok for entertainment, and 87 percent use it for news and information.
“The platform’s scarily-effective algorithm — which personalizes the videos shown based on users' interactions with content — delivers with pinpoint targeting. That results in more revenue, more views, more fans for influencers,” Bamford said. “No one is going to walk away from that quickly, despite the safety concerns.”
If a ban happens, it might be important for younger creators to start diversifying their presence online.
“Even though TikTok is not banned yet, it’s important that influencers ensure their social media presence is diversified among many different platforms such as Instagram, BeReal, YouTube, and more,” said Joe Gagliese, CEO and co-founder of marketing and tech agency Viral Nation. “This will ensure that any potential hiccups with one platform will still allow them to reach their audiences through other channels.”
Even if U.S. users won’t be able to access TikTok, Gagliese doesn’t think it’s going away any time soon. However, it could affect how many people make content for it, and as a result how many brands want to invest in advertising.
“TikTok continues to be a major global platform for creators around the world,” Viral Nation’s Gagliese said. “Creators with a global audience will continue to stay active and build their presence on the platform to connect with their audiences outside of the U.S. That being said, creators may deprioritize new content for Tiktok if the majority of their audience lives within the United States.”
