SALT LAKE CITY — A day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that could possibly ban TikTok, local Utah content creators are nervous how about the next step in the Senate.
The days of picking up their phone, recording themselves and posting a video to the social media platform may be over for Utahns who say the app changed their lives.
Over the years. TikTok saved a Salt Lake City Mexican restaurant in desperate need of business.
"One day, we had maybe 10 customers come in in our 11 hours that we’re open, and then the next day, we have hundreds," said Carlos Cardenas back in 2022.
Just last month, Farmington high school tennis player Anna Frey went to the Super Bowl off a TikTok video that said she was a lookalike of 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy. It even became a place for an 80-year-old Weber State student to share words of encouragement to her 3 million followers.
Now that the app is up in the air, influencers are hoping the Senate doesn’t follow in the footsteps of the House.
"This is my livelihood and I will fight as hard and as long as I have to to see it stick," promised J.T. Laybourne.
Laybourne remembers what it was like before creating content was his full-time job.
"In order to provide for my family, i was working 65+ hours a week," he explained. "A lot of days I’m at work before they wake up and I come home after they’ve gone to bed. TikTok gave me that back."
After Laybourne began posting positive videos five years ago, he eventually garnered 1.7 million followers. His account is now all about promoting authenticity.
"That just snowballed into a 'Just Think' movement, which was just think what a smile could do. Just think if we were a little more patient with one another. And it just went crazy," Laybourne said.
The Utah content creator was in Washington this week in an attempt to sway lawmakers. While all of Utah’s representatives voted yes on the ban, Laybourne hopes Senators Romney and Lee will vote differently.
Governor Spencer Cox said Wednesday that the ban is "great news for the safety of our kids and our national security.”
"I’ve been talking to anybody that would listen to me," said Laybourne. "Sharing my voice, sharing how this app has changed my life forever."
