This short-video platform has the largest number of users in China (over 730 million at the end of 2022).
But the wildly popular platform, developed with homegrown Chinese technology, isn't accessible in China. In fact, it's never existed there. Instead, there's a different version of TikTok — a sister app called Douyin.
ByteDance says 60% of its shares are owned by non-Chinese investors such as U.S investment firms Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Japan's SoftBank Group. Employees own 20% and its founders the remaining 20%. Some details of the relationship between TikTok and ByteDance remain unclear to outsiders.
TikTok is different in China due to its focus on Chinese markets and user demographics. As the original version of the app, Douyin has a larger presence in China compared to TikTok.
A handful have imposed nationwide bans on the app. TikTok, owned by Chinese technology company Bytedance, has long maintained that it doesn't share data with the Chinese government.
China said it would “firmly oppose” any forced sale of TikTok, in its first direct response to demands by the Biden administration that the app's Chinese owners sell their share of the company or face a ban in its most important market.
Japan already bans TikTok on government computers, tablets and mobile phones that handle confidential information.
India imposed a nationwide ban on TikTok and dozens of other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, in 2020 over privacy and security concerns.
With 16 to 25-year-olds driving new video trends in Japan, TikTok's fastest growing social media platform should not be overlooked, as the platform has been engaging an increasing number of younger users. As might be expected, Tik Tok's highest usage is in the 16-19-year-old age group, among whom 31% use it daily.
While TikTok has become the most popular app in the rest of the world, a domestic version called Douyin is available to Chinese consumers. TikTok is burrowing into the devices — and the brains — of teens and tweens around the world.
“We do not collect body, face or voice data to identify our users.” So does the Chinese government have access to any of what TikTok collects? TikTok says it has not shared American user data with the Chinese government, nor would it do so if asked.
TikTok is a "potential threat vector" to the United States, said John F. Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy and principal cyber advisor to the secretary of defense.
The app is letting users restrict their videos so only viewers only the age of 18 can watch. In a blog post, TikTok announced an expansion of its Content Levels, which group the app's users by age and restrict the content seen by younger groups.
TikTok announced its exit from Hong Kong in July 2020, a week after China imposed a controversial national security law in the city. The decision came as the app tried to distance itself from China and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, in the face of growing pressure in the US under the Trump administration.
E-Commerce Features – Douyin Vs TikTok
The Chinese version of Tiktok, Douyin has much more advanced e-commerce features. Users are able to directly link to products on Taobao, JingDong and the like when publishing videos or hosting a livestream. With just three clicks, users can buy a product featured in a video.
Many countries have banned or temporarily limited access to Facebook. Use of the website has also been restricted in various ways in other countries. As of July 2022, the only countries to continually ban access to the social networking site are China, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Russia, Syria and Turkmenistan.
The most active TikTok users in the United States: 136.42 million. Also in the top three countries with the largest number of TikTok users are Indonesia (99.07 million) and Brazil (73.58 million).
According to the latest data on TikTok's advertising reach, the United States is home to the majority of TikTok users worldwide, with 113.3 million TikTokers residing there.
All government and department-issued devices used by politicians and public servants will no longer be able to have the TikTok app installed, however the ban does not apply to private devices. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the ban would come into effect “as soon as practicable*”.
These bans have generally been justified with national security concerns, due to TikTok's ownership by the Chinese company ByteDance. As of April 2023, the app has been banned for use by federal employees and banned for use by state employees in 34 (out of 50) states.
Social media app TikTok has been banned on government electronic devices, the Cabinet Office has announced today. The ban comes after Cabinet Office Ministers ordered a security review.
Afghanistan banned TikTok in September 2022 for "misleading the younger generation," but it is not clear how well the ban is being enforced [read more]. TikTok is also blocked in Iran and North Korea, but both these countries have highly censored internet, so it is not necessarily a TikTok-specific ban.
The PTA lifted the ban in April 2021 after TikTok assured them it would "filter and moderate content".
Many countries are concerned about TikTok's security and the platform's ties to China. Australia is the latest to join the ranks. Australia has become the latest country to ban TikTok from federal government devices, as concerns grow over the privacy and security of the Chinese-owned video-sharing app.