CHARLOTTE, N.C. --  Many people are saying their goodbyes on TikTok. It comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to ban the app in 45 days.

 

What You Need To Know

  • TikTok reports more than 100 million Americans use the app

  • Max Dressler from Charlotte has 4.7 million followers on TikTok

  • Joshua Cureton from Waxhaw has 2.5 million followers on TikTok

 

 

Joshua Cureton says he gained so much fame from his TikTok account that he was asked to announce nominees during the American Music Awards

“People have found themselves and found a way to express themselves off this app,” Cureton says. “People have made livelihoods. Everyone thinks that college is the only way to make it in life, but people have made it off social media.”

It's why he and other users like Max Dressler in Charlotte were upset about the executive order.

“It’s definitely a job,” Dressler says. “It gives me steady income. It’s something that I take a lot of time and put a lot of effort into.”

Money aside, Cureton says, it’s inspirational.

“People have come to me and direct messaged me and said ‘man, your videos helped when I was in a dark time,’” Cureton says. “Taking all that away from people is a really hard thing to do and it is really sad.”

TikTok responded with a statement, which said the “executive order undermines global businesses' trust in the United States” and they are considering taking legal action.

The Associated Press reports that it remains unclear if President Donald Trump has the legal authority to ban the app. If it goes through, experts believe TikTok would be banned from Apple and Google app stores in the U.S.