Some people have also argued that shutting down the app was nothing more than a ploy or a way of censoring negative opinion when it came to the Trump Administration. Most experts, however, are divided over whether the TikTok app can be used to spy on users or not. Its popularity with Western users, thanks to the catchy EDM TikTok songs and social media aspect, and the fact that ByteDance cannot legally refuse sharing their data with the Chinese Government, raised plenty of concern. This is because the app had an ability to send information about the user’s location, biometric data, and images to its parent company in China. In 2019, American think tank, Peterson Institute for International Economics, deemed Tik Tok as a threat to national security. This ban, however, was in response to a clash between the Indian and Chinese military troops stationed at a disputed territory along the border shared by both countries. On June 29, 2020, a total ban on TikTok and 223 other Chinese apps was passed by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The lifting of this ban was short-lived, though. On April 25, 2019, the courts finally reversed its order, though India’s ban did cost the app over 15 million new users. In fact, during this period, TikTok was said to have removed over 6 million videos that violated the existing guidelines. After all, while TikTok challenge songs and videos are entertaining, they cannot regulate who is watching them.Ī spokesperson for Tik Tok stated that they were abiding by local laws and motioned for a reconsideration of the ban, but the courts could not be moved. It was in 2019 when a provisional ban was imposed on the TikTok app, citing that it “encourages pornography” and other “inappropriate content.” Aside from these concerns, they also noted that the minors who were using the app could be put at risk and targeted by predators. TikTok has been the subject of censorship in certain regions and there was even a proposal for it to be banned in the United States altogether. It’s not all Tik Tok songs and viral videos on this app, however. It’s a strategy that has proven effective, considering just how popular the TikTok app is right now.
Some of the early TikTok users include the likes of Jimmy Fallon, but the app also tapped into paid partnerships with celebrities from select countries to introduce the product to local audiences. You must have noticed by now that some of the biggest driving forces behind any trend are the TikTok influencers who incessantly promote the product. So what’s the secret to its success? Aside from viral TikTok songs and TikTok dances, the biggest factor is celebrity endorsement. In the US alone, it has been downloaded over 80 million times! As of October 2018, it was officially the most downloaded video and photo app in the Apple store, and still records over 500 million monthly users. However, the TikTok app changed the game for many and its popularity is far more impressive compared to its predecessors. With some thanks to the trend started by Musical.ly or other apps such as Vine, people were already on-board the short-form video format. As you might expect, user content was also transferred to this app. However, in August 2018 the app was bought by a Chinese company called ByteDance and all of its users were transferred to a newer platform-TikTok. It was no different from the popularity Tik Tok is experiencing now. During its heyday, there were over a hundred million users on it. You might remember it as the video streaming and sharing app that came with a multitude of dialogue (dubbing) options and music that could be used to create entertaining videos. It’s got millions of users from around the world and has even helped many find a platform for success.īut, with that in mind, how familiar are you with the app? You might be surprised to learn what it originated from, and how it became the monster it is today.īefore the TikTok app, the most popular for short-form videos was Musical.ly. If you’ve been keeping up with this video sharing app, then you know just how many popular TikTok songs have made it to the charts. These days, TikTok songs become viral almost every single day.