(NewsNation) — A popular TikTok creator warned that banning the video-sharing app in the United States would cut off an important resource and community platform, especially for families like his with children who have special needs.
Jason Linton, who has 13.8 million followers on TikTok where he shares content about life with his adopted multi-ethnic family, said the potential ban would be devastating. Linton’s son has special needs, and he uses the app to raise awareness while getting support from other parents.
“It cuts off a resource that we have to get information and also to share information with our community,” Linton said in a Sunday interview on “NewsNation Prime.”
The clock is ticking for TikTok, which faces a Jan. 15 deadline to cut ties from its Chinese ownership or be banned in the U.S. over national security concerns. Lawmakers fear the app’s parent company ByteDance could share American user data with China’s authoritarian government.
Linton, who says TikTok helped lift his family out of poverty through brand deals, was among several creators who recently visited the White House. He said it appeared President Joe Biden wanted “to have his finger on the pulse” of youth voters regarding the potential ban.
The TikTok star argued security concerns need to be addressed across all social media platforms, not just through a TikTok ban that would disproportionately hurt certain communities.