Happy Monday to all who celebrate! Local News International will be three-weeks-old on Tuesday, which means it can sometimes nap for two hours on its own.
Thanks to everyone who watched the video of me talking to myself on Friday and thought, “I should give that guy money and/or subscribe to his newsletter!” That was awfully kind of you.
Red-Shirt-Me, Green-Shirt-Me and Main-Character-Dave all celebrated by sharing a $1.50 hotdog at Costco.
While it’s fun to talk to myself, I have a really great crew of people keeping this ship afloat. Don’t miss my Q&A with co-founder Lauren Saks further down the newsletter.
And if you haven’t yet, you can still sign up for our inaugural Zoom call this Tuesday at 8 pm ET.
You can ask me questions, just say “hey,” or just be a fly on the wall while I try (and fail) to convince everyone that I’m not secretly JD Vance.
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Now on to our main event, the thing that absolutely no one is talking about, but I think maybe they should be talking about, especially if you’re a content creator!
Will TikTok be banned?
This isn’t a Groundhog Day situation. It’s just a question we’ve been asking since literally 2020:
Extremely ready to come back from my week off and make more “TikTok ban” TikToks
— #Dave Jorgenson (#@davejorgenson)
1:03 PM • Sep 18, 2020
When Congress officially voted to ban it, that made things a little more real. Congress says they want to protect the data and privacy of U.S. citizens from the Chinese government.
But, as you probably know by now, President Trump doesn’t want to ban it, even though he did five years ago. I covered that dramatic turn of events earlier this year:
Shortly after the last extension in June, reports of a U.S-only TikTok app being developed bubbled to the surface. At TikTok HQ, they’ve nicknamed it ‘M2,’ and apparently they’re trying to release it by the next deadline in September.
According to Reuters, “the change is expected to impact how 170 million U.S. users access global content and how non-U.S. creators make money on the platform.”
If you’re a U.S user, the new app won’t erase your account. Current content will be migrated onto ‘M2,’ and presumably you won’t lose international followers. But it’s still unclear if you will continue to see new content from around the world, and if people around the world will see your content.
As a news creator, my brain immediately splits in two, worrying about two separate potential ramifications.
Let’s start with the content-creator half of my brain:
While the majority of my followers are U.S.-based, it’s unclear if my international followers will continue to see my new content. This really takes the ‘International’ out of ‘Local News International.’
I already have a larger global audience on YouTube. If I’m TikTok, I would start to worry about users leaving the platform for bigger audiences on YouTube, or even Reels, where the new repost function made the platform a real TikTok contender overnight.
What does this new app look like? Is there more suppression? Less? Will TikTok feel inclined to push content favorable to the Trump administration?
Which brings me to the national security concerns and overall political ramifications of this move.
Your data has likely already been sold by Facebook, and other social media companies, to thousands of third-party companies, who could have easily sold it to China.
As I’ve mentioned many times before, banning the app doesn’t adequately address privacy concerns. U.S. based apps are selling your data anyway.
To put on my angry Millennial hat for a moment, the Boomers running our country don’t seem interested in regulating U.S.-based tech companies, much less AI - especially if Trump gets a big shiny made-up trophy from one of their CEOs.
Although it’s a separate, smaller app, TikTok owes its survival in the U.S. to Trump, who swooped in and saved it on the day of his inauguration.
Given the recent news about Trump using tariffs to expand national security goals, who’s to say he wouldn’t lean on TikTok to promote pro-Trump news and devalue critical Trump news?
As a millennial, I probably use the word “ironic” too much but … it’s ironic that in order to save us from the phantom menace of China, we’re building an app that could potentially be controlled by the government, suppressing free speech.
Douyin, the Chinese-only version of TikTok, is “used by Chinese authorities to disseminate information and propaganda.”
To quote Obi-Wan in the Star Wars prequels, “you became the very thing you swore to destroy!”
To quote the emperor in the Star Wars prequels:
I can promise you this much: even if my videos about Trump on TikTok start getting suppressed, I will continue to post them on the app, as well as my YouTube and Reels page.
And obviously, the tie will only get longer.
And now, at long last, my Q&A with LNI co-founder Lauren Saks:
What have your previous jobs been before co-founding LNI?
Until very recently I was the Deputy Director of Video at The Washington Post. I got to make all kinds of videos with reporters and producers that I like - including developing The Washington Post Universe and producing hours and hours of live coverage around elections, impeachments, insurrections and more. I got to make YouTube shows with friends before that at PBS Digital Studios as the head of content and audience development there
In what ways is LNI similar to those jobs? How is it different?
LNI is similar to both of those jobs because I made stuff with on-camera reporters, educators and producers I adore and respect. Thankfully I still get to do that. What's different is I work at my kitchen table now.
What’s the weirdest video of mine you’ve ever approved?The time we 3D printed your face. Or oh no wait this one with PSL Spam. No no. THIS one with Cory Booker at National Airport.
Are you going to adopt a dog and what type of dog and have you adopted it yet? (Sorry, Lola got control of the keyboard for a second)
Yes very soon. Probably a hound-y type so if anyone sees any good hounds that need to be rescued near DC please let me know.
If TikTok was getting banned tomorrow, what video would you save right away (not any of mine!)?
My all time favorite: What's it gonna be Pennsylvania? I also really loved the video Chris made the first time he tried to leave us. And this one of ice coming out of drains.
Last week, I asked you all about what podcasts you listen to, or vodcasts you watch. I got a few very helpful emails, but I’d like to hear from more of you! So email me at [email protected].
See you later today on TikTok, Reels or YouTube, where I post four to five short videos a week. And see you on Zoom tomorrow night!
-Dave
