STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. On Saturday night, just hours before a nationwide ban on the app took effect, TikTok users nationwide lost access to videos on the platform. While some well-known Staten Island social media influencers are devastated, others are adamant about pursuing their social media careers.
Social media influencers Nicky and Jojo Scarlotta, 25-year-old twin brothers from Tottenville who are known as the Scarlotta Twins, told SILive.com that TikTok has opened up a world of possibilities for us, including a full-time career in content creation. We were both in the union and working on construction projects in Manhattan not too long ago.
They claimed that despite having millions of followers on social media, they now have no way to keep their fans entertained.
TikTok posted a notice on its website alerting users that the short-form video platform was no longer accessible in the United States. Users were unable to scroll through videos when they tried to access the app because of a TikTok notification that appeared, according to SIlive.com and AP News. Additionally, the software was taken down from popular app shops like Google and Apple’s.
The message stated that the United States has passed a law outlawing TikTok. Regretfully, this means that TikTok is currently unavailable to you.
Additionally, the letter cited former President Donald Trump’s promise to preserve the platform upon his return to office on Monday, January 20. The message asked users to remain tuned for changes, adding, “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office.”
TikTok had previously informed users that their service would be momentarily offline prior to the announcement. Users were reassured by the corporation that it was making every effort to quickly restore access in the United States.
There have been persistent worries about TikTok’s activities in Washington. Because the app is owned by a Chinese company, lawmakers and administration officials have frequently expressed concerns about possible national security threats.
Untraditional work
According to Nicky Scarlotta, TikTok provided us with a means by which we eventually thought we might work for ourselves and avoid the conventional 9 to 5 schedule.
The 25-year-old twins Jojo and Nicky Scarlotta are seen arriving to Ciro’s Cafe for an exclusive interview and pizza on Advance/SILive.com. Advance images of Shane DiMaio, Staten IslandAdvance images of Shane DiMaio, Staten Island
We finally made the leap around a year and a half ago after much perseverance and hard work, and we haven’t looked back since,” he continued. We never would have imagined that TikTok would enable us to collaborate with so many businesses and creators, much alone be a part of such a vibrant and encouraging community.
If (TikTok) were to be outlawed, we would no longer have access to a platform that we created from the ground up, and it truly helped improve our lives. We received almost 40 million likes and nearly a million followers, and I won’t lie—it has a significant impact on our business. Because it allows you to earn money through monetization, TikTok Live, TikTok Shop, and even their creator program, TikTok is a very special app.
It’s unclear how long TikTok’s blackout will last. President-elect Trump stated that he was thinking of giving TikTok a 90-day extension to continue operating in the United States during an interview with NBC News on Saturday.
Trump, who has previously advocated for the platform’s ban, said that if the extension is accepted, it will probably be revealed on Monday, the day of his inauguration.
“I hope someone steps in at the last minute to either buy the app or delay the ban so it remains in the United States,” Jojo Scarlotta said. If this is the end, we must express our gratitude to the platform that genuinely transformed our lives.
The 25-year-old twins Jojo and Nicky Scarlotta stop by Ciro’s Cafe for an exclusive interview and pizza with Advance/SILive.com. Advance images of Shane DiMaio, Staten IslandAdvance images of Shane DiMaio, Staten Island
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is based in Beijing and is the owner of well-known apps including Lemon8 and CapCut. On Saturday night, it was also reported that neither of these services was accessible in the United States.
While defending the statute in court, the Biden Administration voiced concerns about TikTok’s huge collection of American user data, claiming that the Chinese government might be able to access it.
Change platforms
Since this isn’t the first time we’ve heard of a possible ban, the Scarlotta brothers were added, stating that they have been translating their work for the past two years to various platforms including Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter. Both of them stated that if they plan to continue this career, they encourage other influencers and content producers to follow suit, if they haven’t already.
According to them, it is undoubtedly a setback and a significant annoyance for content producers worldwide.
Staten Island restaurateur Peter Macri, owner of Panini Grill of Staten Island and the new Tutto Apposto, located on Page Avenue, has a significant social media following. However, he is not too concerned with the shutdown.
TikTok is not my biggest platform, Macri toldSILive.com. For me, Instagram and Facebook are bigger for whatever reason. But I would hate to see it go away as I am now approaching 30K followers and actually starting to make some money from it.
I know there are many other reasons why it s getting banned, ones that we would never know about, but any social media platform used in the right way is nothing but a great thing for business owners. TikTok connects (people) worldwide, whereas Facebook and Instagram are more local.
I would hate to see it go away, but if it does, it won t stop me from doing what I love connecting and sharing with people.
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