TikTok creators look for other places to make money as threat of U.S. ban gains steam

Charli D'Amelio is the second-most followed creator on TikTok, where the 19-year-old former competitive dancer and her sister Dixie have made tens of millions of dollars.

But D'Amelio can't be certain how long she'll be able to serve up short viral videos to her 152 million followers. That's because a bill supporting a potential ban of TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, is headed to the House floor and already has the support of President Joe Biden.

Uncertain of which way the political winds will blow, D'Amelio is looking to build her presence elsewhere. Her latest endeavor is a partnership with Shopify to bring her family's online shoe brand to physical stores.

"You have to remember that social media comes and goes," D'Amelio said in an interview at Shopify's D'Amelio Footwear Pop-Up in New York on Friday. "There's new apps, there's new people, there's exciting new trends. You don't always get to be first in line for everything."

D'Amelio and other family members spoke to CNBC at the store opening. Given the political and national security concerns surrounding TikTok, creators are focusing on other ways they can sell their brand.

"Starting a brand…gets you out of it," said Marc D'Amelio, Charli's father and CEO of D'Amelio Brands. "It's a hamster wheel, and it gets you out of that. And you're less dependent on the platform."

Members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party introduced a bill last week that would require ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a U.S. ban. On Thursday, the committee voted 50-0 to send the bill to the House floor. Biden said on Friday that he'll sign legislation if Congress passes it.

While TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has denied any ties between the app and the CCP, U.S.