SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Carr seems to have started a movement against the app by right-wing individuals that is now starting to gain more traction.
This isn’t the first time talks of a TikTok ban have occurred, with Trump having started the idea of banning the app during the pandemic in 2020.
Syracuse University Professor Meg Craig said that even though former President Trump is out of office, he is still making moves to run for office.
“I think that as we’re heading into a midterm election next week, all of this kind of stuff is going to be at the forefront again,” said Craig. “It’s not coincidental timing.”
TikTok is known for being a primarily left-wing app, so having this platform running as it does could pose a threat for conservative nominees.
The FCC does not have the authority to ban TikTok.
While many do want TikTok banned from an app store, there are others who depend on the platform for revenue and publicity.
While many are part of the Creator Fund which helps creators get paid directly for the content they post, many individuals depend on TikTok to promote businesses and products.
Sarah Simile is the owner of small cheese shop “The Curd Nerd” in which she helps to educate viewers about cheese.
She said that if TikTok were to get banned, small businesses everywhere would be hit extremely hard.
“I would venture to say more than half of our customers found out about us from TikTok,” said Simiele. “So more than half of my sales are from TikTok, which is a massive amount of income, that without that, we would have to close the doors.”
While there have been no set moves to ban TikTok from the app store, the unpleasant sentiment towards the app seems to be growing.