NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) — With the possibility of a TikTok ban in the U.S., local content creators say if the app were to go away, it would make it much harder for them to support small businesses and give back to the community.
TikTok is Jesus Morales’ biggest platform, with over five million followers. His page is called juixxe.
"We’ve been able to help out people in the community, whether it’s street vendors, strangers, day laborers, all sorts of people," Morales said.
With the House passing a bill that could ban the popular social media platform, Morales, who is from San Diego, says he will be forced to create content on other apps like Instagram and YouTube.
His page is famous for his acts of kindness, crowdfunding to donate big tips to strangers, and even taking some on trips to amusement parks and sporting events.
One of his most recent donations was to Tacos El Ranchero in National City on 18th and Highland, where he offered to buy tacos for anyone for an hour.
Once the hour was over, the total was about a thousand dollars worth of tacos, and Morales left workers a tip of $4,000.
Lawmakers who want to ban the app say there are national security risks that come with the platform over fears user data could get into the hands of the Chinese government. Although cyber security experts tell ABC News, there is little data on that happening.
Despite the possibility of the app disappearing in the U.S., Morales says he would not stop his acts of kindness but would find other ways to do them.
The bill that would possibly ban the app has only passed in the House; it would still need to pass the Senate for it to become law.
