Katie Meares (left), public policy manager at TikTok, and Suzy Loftus (center), head of trust and safety for TikTok U.S. data security, speak at a roundtable Tuesday at XO Marshmallow, 2730 N. Clark St.
David Struett/Sun-Times
In the wake of a national push to ban TikTok, some of the app’s successful creators touted why the video-sharing app is important to them — but said they could live without it if it went away.
At a company-organized forum in Lake View on Tuesday, XO Marshmallow co-founder Lindzi Shanks said the app helped her company grow through the worst of the pandemic.
“Our very first video … performed so well, and we got so many orders to our website, that we knew there was something there,” said Shanks, whose gourmet marshmallow business hosted the forum at 2730 N. Clark St.
However, the successful creators at the roundtable are not worried about the app being banned by the U.S. government or sold to another company.
In the question-and-answer part of the media event where reporters could ask questions but not quote their answers, the creators said they could easily move to another app if TikTok was banned in the U.S.
The creators emphasized that the app is still important to them at the moment.
The Kankakee Public Library posts humorous TikTok videos that put a spin on library culture.
Hannah Swale, an adult services supervisor at the library, said they use the platform to highlight library services that may be less obvious such as it is a cooling and warming center.
“Our goal isn’t monetary and it’s not to go viral, but just to put libraries in front of people and show their relevance,” Swale said.
Rod Thill became famous for humorous videos posted under the handle @Rod early in the pandemic. He said he wasn’t prepared for the attention, and the 1.6 million followers, some of whom recognize him in Chicago.
“Your brain can only retain 1,000 names. So the fact that millions of people follow me, it’s just wild and insane,” Thill said.
The roundtable, called TikTok Sparks Community, featured two TikTok executives.
Suzy Loftus, head of trust and safety for TikTok U.S. data security, talked about safety features automatically applied to children under 18 and more restrictive measures for those between 15 and 13, the app’s age minimum. Young teens, for example, cannot be messaged by strangers, she said.
Lawmakers pushing a ban on TikTok have pointed to the app’s effect on teenagers and the data security threat posed by its China-based parent company, ByteDance.
The company has roots in Chicago. TikTok has more than 100 employees at its West Loop office at 333 N. Green St., said Katie Meares, public policy manager at TikTok. In Illinois, the company boasts 6.4 million users, including 278 businesses, she said.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., led the charge against TikTok in Congress as one of the original co-sponsors of a bill to force ByteDance to sell off the company or be banned. The House passed the bill earlier in March with a vote of 352-65, but the bill’s fate is uncertain in the Senate.
President Joe Biden said he would sign the TikTok bill. Former President Donald Trump, who once threatened to ban the app when he was in office, now opposes a ban.