TikTok is the most viral platform of the decade. It allows users to use popular songs to create videos and make songs trend with their videos. China owns TikTok. It is a popular social networking site among youth around the world. This fact has caused many problems for TikTok, and it ended up losing a significant share of its users around the world. This is the complete list of countries that have banned TikTok.
To expand its user base in the U.S., TikTok bought musical.ly, an internationally recognized platform for lip-syncing videos. TikTok was the most downloaded U.S. app after the merger. Wikipedia states that TikTok has been downloaded approximately 104 million times via the Apple App Store.
Countries started to worry that their user data might be leaked to China’s government with increasing users. They began to restrict the use of social media platforms. Let’s look at the five countries that have/had removed TikTok.
India
United States
Pakistan
Indonesia
Bangladesh
Let’s take a deeper look at the list to see why these countries have banned one of the most downloaded apps in the past decade.
Table of Content
5 Countries that have banned TikTok
That platform is so successful because you only need one viral 30-second clip to gain thousands or even thousands of followers on the platform. You can upload videos of any genre, from comedy to comedy to education to just plain silly videos.
1. India
Why did India banned TikTok?
India is first on the list, with over 200,000 TikTok users. In an attempt to ban 220+ Chinese apps, the Indian government placed a temporary ban on Tik Tok on 29 June 2020. This was in response to the border conflict between India and China. In response to national security concerns, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology made this ban permanent over the next months.
The ban had a negative impact on TikTok’s business and engagement. It lost its largest user base, and users fled to other platforms such as Instagram reels. This platform saw tremendous growth in the country after the ban.
2. United States
Why did US banned TikTok?
After India, the United States is second on the list of TikTok users. The former U.S. President, Donald Trump signed an executive order to limit TikTok transactions on the U.S. market within the next 45-days. Trump’s administration’s justification for the decision was national security threats.
TikTok filed a lawsuit TikTok against the September 2020 ban imposed on Trump by the Trump administration. This resulted in the temporary suspension of the TikTok ban. In October 2020, 3 TikTok activists filed Marland v. Trump to stop the Commerce Department’s restrictions. This lawsuit was ultimately in favor of TikTok.
3. Pakistan
Why was TikTok banned in Pakistan?
Pakistan is the next country to be added to this list. On October 9, 2020, the ban was placed on popular social media platforms. The ban was imposed because of the indecent and immoral content that was uploaded to the social media platform. The ban was eventually reversed within 10 days, on October 19, 2020.
In March 2021, however, a Pakistani court banned TikTok again for inappropriate content posted on the app. Representatives of TikTok are currently meeting with Pakistani officials to try to resolve any differences and allow Pakistani creators to make the content more friendly to improve relations with Pakistan.
4. Indonesia
Why did Indonesia ban TikTok?
In July 2018, Indonesia was the first country to ban the widely-used app. After TikTok was accused of encouraging pornographic or inappropriate content that was offensive to Indonesian culture, the Indonesian government banned the app.
The Indonesian government implemented the ban as a temporary measure. TikTok could lift it if they comply with the requirements to clean up the interface. TikTok began to ban violating content from the Indonesian region within 8 days.
5. Bangladesh
Why has Bangladesh banned TikTok in Bangladesh?
Bangladesh was the second country to ban TikTok. In November 2018, the Bangladesh government banned internet access to TikTok’s application. Although TikTok was not directly connected to the ban in November 2018, the Bangladesh government clarified that it was due to rising gambling and pornography in Bangladesh.
In 2020, however, TikTok users demanded that the ban be lifted. The Bangladeshi government drafted TikTok authorities in order to remove 10 videos from their platform.
TikTok responded positively to the government’s request and removed the videos. The ban was lifted, and the Bangladeshi government issued a statement saying that they wouldn’t ban the app if both users and platforms followed censorship.
Why has the Trump administration banned WeChat and TikTok?
According to the executive orders, WeChat and TikTok should be removed from the U.S. marketplace due to national security concerns. Despite this, neither order appears to address traditional national security issues like access to classified information about weapons or intelligence systems. The concern is instead about data security and privacy. TikTok, a social network app that allows users to share short video clips created by them, is popular among teens and has over 100 million users in the U.S., as well as many others around the globe.
WeChat, a super app that includes messaging, social media, and payment platforms, is used extensively by the Chinese diaspora in China to connect with their family and friends. Both TikTok, as well as other social networking apps, collect extensive data about their users. The core American concern seems to be that the Chinese government could access this data and possibly use it for spying or blackmail. Officials in the United States also fear that the apps could be used to spread misinformation and censor political speech.
There are many other motivations behind the American actions against TikTok, WeChat. This is an important escalation of technology tensions between the U.S. & China. It builds on previous U.S. actions against hardware companies like ZTE and Huawei. This is also indicative of some officials’ desire for more reciprocity in U.S.-China relations since many U.S. technology firms cannot freely operate in China.
The United States has more than 130 million active monthly TikTok users.
TikTok moves into e-commerce ?
Shopify stated that there is a growing demand from merchants to work with TikTok. Shopify also noted that installs across Shopify’s social commerce channels have increased by 76% between February 2020 and February 2021.
Bloomberg reported earlier this year that TikTok was planning to expand into e-commerce in America in 2021. This would include the ability to share products and a commission program. It also included live-streamed shopping in an attempt to take on Facebook. Later, it was noted by Bloomberg that in-app shopping tests had been initiated with certain brands in Europe.
TikTok’s bigger goal with shoppable material could be to challenge Facebook or Instagram. In recent years, TikTok has invested in online shopping with Facebook Shops and Instagram Shops.
TikTok Shopping uses Shopify to checkout. The user can click the product link or storefront within TikTok to go to Shopify to complete the transaction and make the purchase. The transaction and payment are then handled by Shopify. Shop In the meantime, checkout is done natively within the app, and transactions are processed via Facebook Pay. This can make it feel much more intuitive to the user.
Kylie Jenner was one of the first to adopt the new service. She will use it with her Kylie Cosmetics brand.
Conclusion
TikTok, which is the fastest growing social network in America, will grow in 2021 and will continue to grow in 2022. Ecommerce sellers should consider TikTok eCommerce features, as it drives more sales from a younger audience. The TikTok controversy is over. There’s no scene of the ban in the U.S. in the near future.
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