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With the prospect of TikTok disappearing in the United States, creators on the app spent the week posting heartfelt goodbyes to their fans.
“I never in a million years thought that anyone would ever care about what I say,” Kimberly Rhoades, a creator of humorous videos, he told his 3 million followers on Thursday “If this app goes away, it’s been a great, great run.”
A day later, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 to back it up the law requiring a forced sale of TikTok by ByteDance, the Chinese parent, or a ban on the app in the United States. The short-form video app that rose to mainstream popularity and changed the way Americans consume social media while staying at home during the pandemic. goes dark as soon as Sunday, meaning it could disappear from the web and be removed from app stores run by Apple and Google.
Congress passed the law, signed by President Joe Bidenciting national security concerns due to TikTok’s data collection practices and ties to China.
In a follow up video On Friday, Rhoades hummed about 30 seconds of “Taps,” the military song often played at funerals. He ended by saying, “It was an honor to make you laugh.”
The fate of TikTok in the United States now it is in the hands of the president-elect Donald Trumpwho originally favored a ban on TikTok during his first administration, but has since flip-flopped on the matter. In December, Trump he asked the Supreme Court at pause the implementation of the law and allow his administration “an opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”
In a Friday post on his social network app Truth Social, Trump wrote: “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I must have time to review the situation. Stay tuned! ” CEO of TikTok Shou Chew is one of many technology leaders expected to be present at Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC, on Monday. In a short video, Chew thanked Trump “for his commitment to work with us to find a solution that keeps TikTok available” in the United States.
Giovanna Gonzalez of Chicago demonstrates outside the US Capitol after a press conference by the creators of TikTok to voice her opposition to the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversaries Controlled Applications Act” “, pending TikTok crackdown legislation in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, United States, March 12, 2024.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
Although Trump has finally found a way to keep the app alive for American consumers, many TikTok creators have been preparing for the end, telling their fans to find them on other social platforms such as YouTube and Google. of Meta Facebook and Instagram, CNBC first reported. RedNotea Chinese social media app and TikTok looks like it rose to the top of Apple’s app store on Monday, indicating that TikTok’s millions of users are looking for alternatives.
U creator migration seems to have picked up steam as the ban’s expiration approaches. Influencers like Megan Cruz used their farewell videos as an opportunity to sell TikTok attributes.
“Someone had the potential to be a leader”
“People were engaged with things like BookTok and FilmTok and the idea of being engaged in the culture on TikTok because you don’t have to be a great creator,” said Cruz. in a video published earlier this week. “There was an incentive for people to join the conversation because someone had the potential to be a leader in a conversation, to make a point that resonates with millions of people.”
The history of TikTok as a viral sensation dates back to 2017, when ByteDance spent about $1 billion to acquire a startup called Musical.ly. ByteDance combined Musical.ly and TikTok the following year.
TikTok started to make inroads in the United States at the time, primarily as an app that young people used for short dance clips and lip sync videos. TikTok’s big break came during the pandemic lockdowns of 2020, when consumers were looking for ways to pass the time and connect with others online.
The app was so successful that internet giants Meta and Google launched copycat services. Meta introduced Reels for US Instagram users in August 2020 and later added it to Facebook. Google launched YouTube Shorts in the US in March 2021.
Despite the competition, TikTok has continued to grow.
TikTok has about 115 million monthly active users in the United States, compared to 258 million for YouTube, 253 million for Facebook and 131 million for Instagram, according to market intelligence company Sensor Tower.
Although TikTok lags its rivals in total users, the Chinese app has become a center for creators, defined as users with more than 1,000 followers. TikTok has nearly 8.5 million users in the United States who fit that category, compared to about 5.2 million on Instagram and 1.1 million on YouTube, according to HypeAuditor, an influencer marketing platform.
Entrepreneur Frank McCourt’s Internet advocacy group Project Freedom announced on January 9 that it had submitted a proposal to buy TikTok from ByteDance for undisclosed terms. McCourt told CNBC on Friday that “we are, I believe, the only bidder” that meets the criteria necessary to distract the technology from the Chinese algorithm.
If ByteDance decides to sell, potential buyers will have to spend between $40 billion and $50 billion, according to one estimate. estimate of TikTok’s American operations by CFRA Research Senior Vice President Angelo Zino.
Some creators, anticipating a shutdown, let their fans know where they can find them. Others encourage users to unfollow them on Meta’s services, or encourage them to take a break from social media.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say that once TikTok is gone, you just cut social media out of your life and encourage it – it’s probably going to be really healthy for you,” said Jack Ryan, a creator with 2 million of TikTok followers, in a video Thursday thanking his fans for their support.
“I have an Instagram. I have a sizable following there, but don’t follow me on Instagram,” Ryan added. “Don’t go there. It’s brain rolling. It’s ugly.”
Jonas Gindin, who has more than 400,000 Tiktok followers, said in a video that a year and a half ago he was waiting tables while trying to become an actor in Los Angeles. He didn’t have much luck.
After finding a fan base on TikTok, Gindin said he was able to produce content full-time on the app.
“If we’re cooked, it’s been a ride, man,” Gindin said. “Every time I see someone comment something positive, it means the world, bro.”
WATCH: It’s up to Apple and Google if they want to keep TikTok in their app stores, says NSA’s Gerstell
