TikTok - statistics & facts
TikTok videos revolutionized the social media environment. With its short dances and irreverent Gen Z commentaries, the social video app’s immense popularity came to mirror some of the most significant technological trends of the past decade: the shift from desktop to mobile, users’ short-video preference, and innovative ads.
ByteDance is not exactly new to controversies: in 2020, the company lost access to the Indian market due to an extended apps ban. The tug of war between TikTok and global institutions continued well into 2023: In 2023, TikTok faced a partial ban on institutional and governmental devices in several countries: first the European Parliament staff were recommended to remove TikTok from their personal devices, and then the UK banned TikTok downloads from government mobile phones – a moved approved by over half of the country.
Despite its proven resilience, losing access to the U.S. audience will represent a hard blow to ByteDance, as the country was the largest market for the social video app, counting approximately 150 million users in January 2024. The TikTok ban is going to favor ByteDance’s largest competitors in the region, namely YouTube and Instagram, but also smaller players such as Triller Inc., a social video platform that filed to go public in August 2023.
Behind TikTok: ByteDance
TikTok is a video-sharing social media app launched on the international market in 2017. The platform is owned by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance, which is behind the release of several popular apps including Douyin, Toutiao, and CapCut. In 2023, ByteDance was the leading unicorn worldwide, with a valuation of 200 billion U.S. dollars. While mainstream social media platforms have been struggling with protecting their growth, ByteDance saw almost 30 billion U.S. dollars in revenues in the second quarter of 2023, up by 40 percent compared the corresponding quarter in 2022.TikTok users: young, eager, and connected
TikTok allows users to create, edit, and share short-form video clips that are enhanced with filters and accompanied by the latest music trends. The platform comes as a free-to-download app, a factor that made onboarding easy for mobile users - who currently represent over 90 percent of the global digital population.The TikTok ban progression
In April 2024, a bill ruling in favor of the sale of TikTok completed its road from the U.S. Senate to the White House. The bill mandated the selling of TikTok from its Chinese-based parent company, or face complete ban from the U.S. market in case of non-compliance. The main reason behind the ban is the alleged data collection malpractice, as well as the close ties between the Beijing-based parent company ByteDance and the American branch of the popular social media. The company, which was estimated to have created a total of 4.8 billion euros of GDP contribution in the European region, reported it will fight the ban, possibly basing its defense on First Amendment, which regulates freedom of speech.ByteDance is not exactly new to controversies: in 2020, the company lost access to the Indian market due to an extended apps ban. The tug of war between TikTok and global institutions continued well into 2023: In 2023, TikTok faced a partial ban on institutional and governmental devices in several countries: first the European Parliament staff were recommended to remove TikTok from their personal devices, and then the UK banned TikTok downloads from government mobile phones – a moved approved by over half of the country.
Despite its proven resilience, losing access to the U.S. audience will represent a hard blow to ByteDance, as the country was the largest market for the social video app, counting approximately 150 million users in January 2024. The TikTok ban is going to favor ByteDance’s largest competitors in the region, namely YouTube and Instagram, but also smaller players such as Triller Inc., a social video platform that filed to go public in August 2023.
