What’s next for TikTok creators with the app’s future unclear: NPR

TikTok could go dark in the US on Sunday following the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a ban on the social media app unless it is sold by its Chinese parent ByteDance.

President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on Monday, has said he will consider what to do next – on Saturday he said he would “most likely” delay the ban, which is scheduled to take effect on Sunday.

He could also continue with the ban and push for the sale of the Chinese-owned platform to an American company, as required by the law passed by Congress last year.

Meanwhile, the huge community of creators who post videos on TikTok have taken to the platform to share their feelings about a potential TikTok-less future.

“Feels like I’m losing a really good friend — and it’s a shame,” tearful TikToker said Emily Senn, who has been contributing comedy and lifestyle videos to the platform over the past few years, has earned a steady income from these endeavors. Beyond sadness, Senn’s “farewell to TikTok” video cycles through many emotions, from anger at the US government for banning the platform (“I’ll never forgive you for this!”) to anguish over the lost revenue stream. (“I’m worried about what I’m going to do financially.”)

Not all TikTok creators are filled with woe.

Others have had some grim fun — user Yanxiao1003 is among the many creators who post content mocking the idea that a Chinese spy might be hiding in their phones.

“We’re not supposed to do this, but I keep getting requests from my viewers to review the privacy of the people we’re seeing,” he said, before going on to provide information about the people he had “spyed” on.

Lawmakers who passed the ban were concerned about what they describe as national security risks posed by the app. They warn that it could be used by the Chinese government to influence and monitor its more than 170 million American users.

The TikTok difference

Social media platforms often have limited lifespans. X today bears very little resemblance to the Twitter of yesteryear. And now extinct platforms like Meerkat, Periscope and Vine are but a faint memory for many.

But TikTok, launched in 2016, quickly became a bastion of creative expression. The platform differs from Instagram and Facebook because of the way its algorithms worked.

“Instagram is really about who you follow. And based on who you follow, they’re going to determine what content you see,” says Eric Dahan, CEO of social media marketing firm Mighty Joy. “You look at TikTok, it’s very content-driven. So it doesn’t matter who you follow almost as much. It’s really about what content you find interesting.”

Dahan said that’s why TikTok became such a huge platform for creative discovery — where artists could share their work, go viral and build communities as well as their careers. The massive popularity of the BookTok literary community is an example of that.

“The most important sign that a social platform is successful is its ability to create and spark a unique community,” said Dahan. “People who weren’t previously considered creators became organic influencers through TikTok.”

Preparation of backup plans

Many creators have been looking for TikTok alternatives in the past few weeks, with some migrating to Instagram or YouTube.

Others have checked out potential creative homes on Chinese apps RedNote and Lemon8.

In the days leading up to the TikTok ban, Lemon8 (which is owned by ByteDance, the same company that owns TikTok) rose to the top of the Apple App Stores the list of most popular lifestyle apps. And according to data shared with NPR by digital marketing agency Hennessey DigitalGoogle Trends data showed that RedNote attracted nearly 2.5 million searches in less than 48 hours.

Some former TikTokers have been unapologetic in their decision to migrate to these Chinese-owned apps.

“Do you think I will join a Chinese app that supports the Chinese government to go against my homeland, America?” said TikToker Danisha Carter in a recent video. “You would be absolutely right. Here is my RedNote profile.”

Unclear future

It remains to be seen whether the US government will also go after these platforms. It will still be up to the Trump administration to enforce the ban.

Trump alluded to the platform’s future in a message submitted to his social media platform, Truth Social, on Friday. “The Supreme Court decision was expected and everyone must respect it,” Trump wrote. “My decision on TikTok will be made in the not too distant future, but I need time to review the situation. Stay tuned!”

He told NBC on Saturday that he will “highly likely” give the platform a 90-day extension from a potential ban, but had not made a final decision.

To some observers, TikTok’s permanent shuttering seems unlikely.

“I think it will be a slow transition rather than just a complete shutdown,” said Hao Zheng, a researcher at Curtin University’s Influencer Ethnography Research Lab in Perth, Australia.

And others, like influential TikToker Jools Lebron (of “very decent” meme fame), express optimism about the future.

“It ain’t over till the fat lady sings,” Lebron said in one post on TikTok on Friday. “We’re not giving up yet. I just believe it’s going to work out.”