After skyrocketing to global tech stardom, is Chinese-owned TikTok on its way down?

Name: Pompeo says US considering ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps, praises Google, Facebook, Twitter
Uploaded: 2020-07-24T22:00:20.000Z
Duration: 1 min 4 s
Description: Pompeo says US considering ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps, praises Google, Facebook, Twitter

In April this year, TikTok and its Chinese version Douyin surpassed 2 billion downloads globally

It has found itself in the crosshairs of authorities in recent months, with a ban on the app in India and the US also considering taking similar action

Reading Time:7 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

Members of the Working Journalist of India (WJI) hold placards urging citizens to remove Chinese apps and stop using Chinese products during a demonstration against the Chinese newspaper Global Times, in New Delhi on June 30, 2020. Photo: AFP

Tracy QuandCoco Feng

Published: 6:00am, 25 Jul 2020Updated: 6:12pm, 20 Aug 2020

Since it launched internationally in 2017, TikTok has become known as the first Chinese-owned app to take the world by storm.

By April this year, the short video sensation and Chinese version Douyin had surpassed 2 billion downloads globally on Apple’s App Store and Google Play, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. It remains the most downloaded non-gaming app in the world, even without counting its strong user base in its home country, the data shows.

Now unrelenting US pressure, a border spat between China and India, and escalating global concerns over data security and privacy are threatening its advance.

The seemingly innocuous app, known for pranks and challenges, has found itself in the crosshairs of authorities in some of its most important markets amid mounting suspicion of China, even though it has repeatedly denied censoring videos that displease China or sharing user data with its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance.

India and the US are TikTok’s largest and third-largest markets, contributing 27.6 and 8.2 per cent respectively to TikTok's 596 million downloads in the first half of the year, according to Sensor Tower.

01:04

Pompeo says US considering ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps, praises Google, Facebook, Twitter

India’s recent ban of 59 Chinese apps including TikTok could cost ByteDance US$6 billion in losses, a report by Chinese media outlet Caixin estimated earlier this month, citing anonymous sources.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x