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TikTok boasts over a billion users worldwide, including more than 170 million in the United States, it says – nearly half the country’s population.
Here is a closer look at the app, which said on Thursday it had signed a deal with investors that would allow it to maintain US operations and avoid a ban threat over its Chinese ownership.
Born in China
TikTok’s surge from niche video-sharing tool to global powerhouse is one of the biggest shifts in digital entertainment since the advent of social media.
From friends dancing together to home chefs sharing recipes, TikTok can transform ordinary users into celebrities, revolutionizing the traditional path to stardom.
It was launched in 2016 by Chinese tech company ByteDance for the local market, where it is called Douyin. The international version, TikTok, was released in 2017.
The app gained massive momentum after merging with Musical.ly, a lip-synching app, a year later.
‘For You’ page
The so-called secret sauce in TikTok’s rapid expansion has been its innovative recommendation algorithm.
Instead of showing content from accounts that users already follow, the endless scroll of TikTok’s “For You” page is based on viewing habits, engagement patterns and sophisticated content analysis.
A video from a complete unknown can reach millions of people if the algorithm determines it engaging enough – a model that the app’s rivals have been quick to follow.
TikTok's focus on short clips also helps keep users hooked.
It was initially limited to uploads of 15 seconds, but this was later expanded to up to 10 minutes, and now some users can post videos as long as 60 minutes.
Political suspicions
TikTok’s mass appeal means its rise has been controversial – mainly over its Chinese ownership and its built-in unpredictability.
The platform has faced scrutiny from governments worldwide, particularly in the United States, over data privacy and potential ties to the Chinese government, including accusations of spying and propaganda.
India banned TikTok along with other Chinese apps in 2020, citing national security concerns.
Huge fine
A European Union watchdog fined TikTok 530 million euros ($620 million) in May for failing to guarantee its user data was shielded from access by Chinese authorities.
The social media giant has appealed the fine, insisting it has never received any requests from Chinese authorities for European users’ data.
Teenage safety fears
In a world first this month, Australia banned under-16s from major social media platforms including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, with the onus on the tech firms to kick young users off their services.
Other countries have expressed concern about the potential effects of TikTok on young users, including accusations that it funnels them into echo chambers and fails to contain illegal, violent, or obscene content.
Albania banned TikTok for a year in March after a 14-year-old schoolboy was killed in the culmination of a confrontation that started on social media.
Sell or be banned
The US Congress passed legislation in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest control of TikTok in the United States or be banned.
On Thursday, according to an internal memo seen by AFP, TikTok CEO Shou Chew told employees that the social media company and its Chinese owner ByteDance, had agreed to a new joint venture in the United States.
Oracle – whose executive chairman, Larry Ellison, is a longtime ally of President Donald Trump – Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX are on board as major investors.
“The US joint venture will be responsible for US data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance,” Chew said in the memo.
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