CHARLOTTE, N.C. — TikTok creators traveled to Washington, D.C. to ask lawmakers to vote against a bill that could ban the social media platform in the United States if it does not separate from its parent company.

What You Need To Know

  • U.S. House of Representatives voted 352-65 to ban TikTok in the United States if it does not divest from its China-based parent company, ByteDance
  • More than 170 million Americans use the app, and five million business owners post content on TikTok to reach consumers, according to the social media platform
  • The bill is advancing to the Senate where how the Senate will vote is uncertain
  • President Joe Biden has said if the House and the Senate pass the bill, he would sign it into law

Charlotte plus-size boutique owner Summer Lucille started Juicy Body Goddess in 2011. She said she has used other social media platforms to publicize her business, but it did not take off until 2022 when she got on TikTok.

"As soon as that video went viral, I woke up to a couple hundred thousand followers, sales were coming in and we were just trying to fulfill them," Lucille said.

She was able to move her business production into a warehouse and get a storefront in Northlake Mall. Now, in addition to her local customers, people who have seen her on TikTok fly to her boutique from all over the country. 

Lucille says she went to Washington to ensure lawmakers know what banning the app would actually mean from the 170 million Americans and five million business owners on the app.

"You are taking my business from me, and I want the politicians to know that. I want the world to know, you are taking my livelihood," Lucille said.

The House of Representatives voted 352-65 to ban TikTok in the United States if it does not divest from its China-based parent company, ByteDance.

Representatives on both sides of the aisle say ByteDance could be required to hand over U.S. user data to the Chinese Communist Party if it asks for it, based on a Chinese National Intelligence Law passed in 2017.

If the bill becomes law, TikTok would have about five months to divest from its parent company or be banned in the United States. 

"To silence us, that is going to be — that will highly influence who I vote for, especially in November," Lucille said.

The bill will go on to the Senate where it faces an unclear future. President Joe Biden has said if the bill passes the Senate and the House, he would sign it into law.