Possible TikTok ban could be 'an extinction-level event' for the creator economy

Social media creator Lauren-Ashley Beck has more than 500,000 TikTok followers. Money she earns on the platform is now her largest source of income.

Grace Widyatmadja / Grace Widyatmadja

Content creators are watching the clock.

TikTok will be banned in the U.S. in less than a year, unless its owner, ByteDance, sells the company, or the law signed by President Biden last month is blocked by the courts.

Anxiety is coursing through the creator economy, which includes tens of thousands of people who earn a living by making videos on TikTok, an app that has become a prime place for advertisers to reach younger audiences.