LARGO, Fla. — The uncertainty surrounding TikTok's future has creators who rely on the app for income concerned.

What You Need To Know

  • Content creators are waiting to learn the fate of TikTok as a law banning it takes effect on Sunday

  • Tampa Bay resident Anastacia Gunn said TikTok changed her life after she began making videos in 2022

  • Gunn now earns a living making videos for businesses

  • She says a ban would take away her family's income, and she's working with other creators to stop the ban

"I'm going to be financially decimated if TikTok gets banned," said creator Anastacia Gunn.

Gunn said the app changed her life when she began making videos in 2022.

"In 2018, when my daughter was one year old, I couldn't afford to live here anymore. My rent was $3,000 a month. My electric bill was $700. My car insurance was $400, and I couldn't afford it," she said.

Gunn said she moved to Wisconsin after being priced out of Florida.

"Through TikTok and being able to save as much money as I did, I was able to come home, buy a house, bring my daughter back to where she was born, give back to my family members," she said.

Gunn creates content for businesses. She calls the videos ads that don't look like ads. It's what pays her bills, and it's also been a lifeline.

"Live streaming while I was evacuating the hurricane, and my pay hadn't hit yet, is actually what helped me evacuate," she said.

Now, Gunn's joined fellow creators to try to stop a ban from going into effect Sunday.

"I genuinely don't know any other place where I could make $6,000 a month in this economy," Gunn said. "A TikTok ban would take away my family's security."

Gunn created a website that provides guidance on how people can let their elected officials know they don't want to see TikTok go dark. She said she also joined a Zoom meeting with Rep. Ro Khanna of California and reached out to the Office of the President and elected officials from Florida to let those in power know the impact a ban could have nationwide.

"This is billions of dollars that we have on the line, and none of us have gotten our tax forms, either," Gunn said. "So, none of us will be able to pay our taxes."

She said creators would have no way to collect their earnings for January if TikTok goes dark, and the app hasn't acknowledged the possible shutdown to users.