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TikTok ban would be an 'astronomical' change for these Kansas City content creators

Twin brothers Luke and Paul Harwerth, who use the handle @Twinsauce, generate their entire income through brand and advertisement deals based off their content creation on social media. If the TikTok ban in the U.S. is upheld by the Supreme Court, the Kansas City brothers say they'll lose at least 50% of their market value.
Luke and Paul Harwerth
Twin brothers Luke and Paul Harwerth, who use the handle @Twinsauce, generate their entire income through brand and advertisement deals based off their content creation on social media. If the TikTok ban in the U.S. is upheld by the Supreme Court, the Kansas City brothers say they'll lose at least 50% of their market value.

Video creators around Kansas City are concerned about their livelihoods and Congress' ability to limit free speech if the Supreme Court upholds a ban of the video-sharing app TikTok. Up To Date spoke with @Andr3wsky and the brothers behind @Twinsauce about their future if the social media app disappears.

President Joe Biden signed into law last year a bipartisan bill that would ban TikTok in the U.S. based on national security concerns unless its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, divests from the company.

The law is slated to go into effect on Jan. 19, but is being challenged in court. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule this week whether to pause the the ban, overturn it, or uphold it, which could eliminate access to TikTok for an estimated 170 million users in the U.S.

"I think they're making (national security) a bigger concern than it actually is," said Tiktok content creator @Andr3wsky. (Up To Date is not using Andrew's last name due to his professional law career in Kansas City.)

"Obviously, we should have data privacy and protection laws here in the United States — and I'm glad to see Congress finally acting on that, even in this small capacity, even if I believe that their attempts are a little misguided," Andrew said. "But I think the idea that we should be limiting speech as a matter of national security is fraught with concerns."

While many people use TikTok for entertainment, there are an estimated 7 million content creators who utilize the platform to generate income.

For Luke and Paul Harwerth, twin brothers who go by the handle @Twinsauce, content creation on social media is a full time job. The brothers have over 550,000 followers on TikTok, and use their following to negotiate advertising deals, which make up about 60% of their salary.

"The amount of small businesses that have become massive because of this app, and livelihoods changed, lives changed, is astronomical," said Luke Harweth. "It is inspiring to see how it's worked, where places like other apps, it doesn't happen, like we don't see that level of virality, which can be very beneficial to these smaller companies."

  • Luke Harwerth, content creator, @Twinsauce
  • Paul Harwerth, content creator, @Twinsauce
  • Andrew, content creator, @Andr3wsky
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As a host and contributor at KCUR, I seek to create a more informed citizenry and richer community. I want to enlighten and inspire our audience by delivering the information they need with accuracy and urgency, clarifying what’s complicated and teasing out the complexities of what seems simple. I work to craft conversations that reveal realities in our midst and model civil discourse in a divided world. Follow me on Twitter @ptsbrian or email me at brian@kcur.org.
When you listen to Up To Date, I want you to understand decisions being made in the city, feel inspired by community members, and empathize with people who've had different experiences. As an Up To Date producer, I connect you to the news through conversations with community members and elected officials. Contact me at elizabeth@kcur.org or on Twitter at @er_bentley_ruiz.
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