With the prospect of TikTok disappearing in the US, the app’s creators have spent the week posting heartfelt greetings to their fans.
“I never, not in a million years, thought anyone would ever care about what I had to say,” Kimberly Rhoades, creator of funny videos, he told her 3 million followers on Thursday. “If this app goes away, it’s been a wonderful, wonderful ride.”
A day later, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 to uphold a law requiring the forced sale of TikTok by Chinese parent ByteDance or a ban on the app in the U.S. The short video app that became popular and changed the way Americans used social media while under lockdown during the pandemic is set to go dark as early as Sunday , which means it could disappear from the web and be removed from the app stores it manages Apple and Google.
Congress passed the law, signed it President Joe Bidenciting national security concerns over TikTok’s data collection practices and ties to China.
IN accompanying video on Friday, Rhoades hummed about 30 seconds of “Taps,” a military song often played at funerals. She ended by saying, “It was an honor to make you laugh.”
TikTok’s fate in the US now lies in the hands of the newly elected president Donald Trumpwho was originally in favor of banning TikTok during his first administration, but has since backtracked. In December, Trump asked The Supreme Court yes pause the implementation of the law and allow his administration “an opportunity to seek a political solution to the issues in the case.”
In a post Friday on his social media app Truth Social, Trump wrote: “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I need to have time to review the situation. Stay tuned!” CEO of TikTok Shou Chew is one of several technological leaders attendance is expected at Trump’s inauguration in Washington, DC, on Monday. In a short video, Chew thanked Trump “for his commitment to working with us to find solutions that keep TikTok available” in the US
Giovanna Gonzalez of Chicago protests outside the US Capitol after a press conference by the creators of TikTok to express their opposition to the “Protecting Americans from Apps Controlled by Foreign Enemies Act”, pending legislation to crack down on TikTok in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, 12 March 2024.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
Regardless of whether Trump finally finds a way to keep the app alive for American consumers, many TikTok creators are preparing for the end, telling their fans to find them on other social platforms like Google’s YouTube and It’s a target Facebook and Instagram, CNBC earlier reported. RedNoteChinese social networking app and A TikTok doppelgänger, he rose to the top Apple’s app stores on Monday, indicating that millions of TikTok users have been looking for alternatives.
The migration creator seems to have heated up as the ban deadline approached. Influencers like Megan Cruz used their farewell videos as an opportunity to highlight TikTok’s attributes.
‘Everyone had the potential to be a leader’
“People were caught up in things like BookTok and FilmTok and the idea that you do culture on TikTok because you don’t have to be a big creator,” Cruz said, in the video published earlier this week. “There was an incentive for people to join the conversation because everyone had the potential to be a leader in the conversation, to make a point that resonated with millions of people.”
TikTok’s history as a viral sensation dates back to 2017, when ByteDance spent about $1 billion to buy a startup called Musical.ly. ByteDance merged Musical.ly and TikTok the following year.
Around this time, TikTok began to take off in the US, primarily as an app that young people used for short dance clips and lip sync videos. TikTok suffered a major setback during the 2020 pandemic, 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 copy services. Meta introduced Reels to US Instagram users in August 2020 and then added it to Facebook. Google launched YouTube Shorts in the US in March 2021.
Despite the competition, TikTok continued to grow.
TikTok has about 115 million monthly active users in the US, compared with 258 million for YouTube, 253 million for Facebook and 131 million for Instagram, according to market research firm Sensor Tower.
Although TikTok lags behind its rivals in total users, the Chinese app has become a hub for creators, defined as users with more than 1,000 followers. TikTok has nearly 8.5 million users in the US who fit into that category, compared to about 5.2 million on Instagram and 1.1 million on YouTube, according to HypeAuditor, an influencer marketing platform.
Businessman Frank McCourt’s internet advocacy group Project Freedom announced on January 9 that it had submitted a proposal to buy TikTok from ByteDance under undisclosed terms. McCourt told CNBC on Friday that “we are, I believe, the only bidder” that meets the necessary criteria to separate the technology from the Chinese algorithm.
If ByteDance decides to sell, potential buyers may have to spend between $40 billion and $50 billion, according to estimates assessment TikTok’s US business from CFRA SVP Research Angel Zin.
Some creators, anticipating the shutdown, let their fans know where to find them. Others encourage users to unfollow them on Meta’s services or encourage them to move away from social media altogether.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say that when TikTok goes away, you’re just going to cut social media out of your life, and I encourage that — it’s probably going to be very healthy for you,” said Jack Ryan, a creator with 2 million TikTok followers. in the video on Thursday, thanking his fans for their support.
“I have Instagram. I have quite a few followers there, but don’t follow me on Instagram,” Ryan added. “Don’t do that. It’s brain rot. It’s disgusting.”
Jonas Gindin, who has more than 400,000 Tiktok followers, said in a video that a year and a half ago he was a waiter while trying to become an actor in Los Angeles. He wasn’t very lucky.
After finding a fan base on TikTok, Gindin said he was able to produce content on the app full-time.
“If we’re cooked, it’s been a ride, man,” Gindin said. “Whenever I see someone comment on something positive, it means the world, bro.”
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