TikTok creators post farewell videos to their fans ahead of U.S. ban

With the prospect of TikTok disappearing in the U.S., creators on the app spent the week posting heartfelt goodbyes to their fans.

“I never even in a million years ever thought that anybody would ever just care about what I say,” Kimberly Rhoades, a creator of humorous videos, told her 3 million followers on Thursday. “If this app goes away, it was a beautiful, beautiful ride.”

A day later, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 to uphold the law requiring a forced sale of TikTok by Chinese-parent ByteDance or a ban of the app in the U.S. The short-form video app that rose to mainstream popularity and changed the way Americans consumed social media while stuck indoors during the pandemic is set to go 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 Biden, citing 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. She ended by saying, “It was an honor making you laugh.”

TikTok’s fate in the U.S. now lies in the hands of President-elect Donald Trump,  who originally favored a TikTok ban during his first administration, but has since flip-flopped on the matter. In December, Trump asked the Supreme Court to pause the law’s implementation and allow his administration “the opportunity to pursue a political resolution of the questions at issue in the case.”

In a Friday post on his social media 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!” TikTok CEO Shou Chew is one of several tech leaders expected to be in attendance at Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., 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 U.S.

Whether Trump ultimately finds a way to keep the app alive for American consumers, many TikTok creators have been preparing for an end, telling their fans to find them on other social platforms such as Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, CNBC previously reported. RedNote, a Chinese social media app and TikTok look-alike, rose to the top of Apple’s app store on Monday, indicating that TikTok’s millions of users were seeking alternatives.

The creator migration appears to have picked up steam as the ban deadline approached. Influencers like Megan Cruz used their farewell videos as an opportunity to tout the attributes of TikTok.

“People were engaged with things like BookTok and FilmTok and the idea of being engaged in culture on TikTok because you didn’t have to be a big creator,” said Cruz, in a video posted earlier this week. “There was incentive for people to join the conversation because anyone had the potential to be a leader in a conversation, to make a point that resonated 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 began making headway in the U.S. around that time, primarily as an app that young people used for short dance clips and lip-syncing 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 U.S. Instagram users in August 2020 and then added it to Facebook. Google rolled out YouTube Shorts in the U.S. in March 2021.

Despite the competition, TikTok continued to grow. 

TikTok has about 115 million monthly active users in the U.S., compared to 258 million for YouTube, 253 million for Facebook and 131 million for Instagram, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.

Though TikTok lags 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 U.S. who fit that category, compared with 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 Liberty announced on Jan. 9, that it had submitted a proposal to buy TikTok from ByteDance at undisclosed terms. McCourt told CNBC on Friday that “we, I believe, are the only bidder” that meets the necessary criteria of disentangling 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 a valuation estimate of TikTok’s U.S. operations from CFRA Research Senior Vice President Angelo Zino. 

Some creators, anticipating a shutdown, are letting their fans know where they can find them. Others are encouraging users not to follow them on Meta’s services, or encouraging them to take a break from social media altogether. 

“I’ve been hearing a lot of people say that once TikTok is gone, you’re just going to cut social media out of your life and I encourage that – it’ll probably be really healthy for you,” said Jack Ryan, a creator with 2 million TikTok followers, in a video on Thursday thanking his fans for their support. 

“I do have an Instagram. I do have a sizable following on there, but don’t follow me on Instagram,” Ryan added. “Don’t go on there. It’s brain rot. It’s gross.”

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 wasn’t having much luck.

After finding a fanbase on TikTok, Gindin said he’s managed to produce content full-time on the app. 

“If we’re cooked, it’s been a ride, man,” Gindin said. “Anytime I see someone comment something positive, it means the world, bro.”

WATCH: Up to Apple and Google if they want to keep TikTok on their app stores, says NSA’s Gerstell