As many know, the US government has been concerned about China’s government collecting users’ data and influencing operations. Therefore, TikTok has been under surveillance and investigation in the US for several years, leaving different videos such as Shou Zi Chew having to explain that he is Singaporean (a few too many times) as evidence. The other week my TikTok was blown up by videos about the US banning TikTok, but then less than 24 hours later it seems all of the Americans came back to the app. Naturally, I had to investigate what was going on and here is what I found.
Once the ban was lifted in the US, the (previous?) CEO of TikTok Shou Zi Chew no longer had the bio “CEO of TikTok” in his profile that he previously had, but now instead just has “TikTok”. This could be a sign of him no longer being the CEO of TikTok worldwide but having a different CEO in the US, which could be the reason the ban was lifted. Donald Trump, who has previously proposed to ban the app during his previous presidency, said that he would grant an extension to TikTok upon being inaugurated, which it seems like he did. Because of this, it seems as though Americans got a message when they opened the app again after the ban that was thanking Donald Trump for saving the app.
In January as the ban approached, in case it was actually going to happen, many users looked for an alternative to TikTok for a “mass migration”. They then found the Chinese app Xiaohongshu (or RedNote), which is similar to TikTok, but actually means “little red book”. The app therefore became the most downloaded free app on the Apple app store and gained millions of users quickly. I imagine this might have unsettled the U.S. government, considering their justification for banning TikTok was to prevent the Chinese government from accessing users’ data.
According to the videos on my TikTok, many of the people who tried the app loved it and preferred it over TikTok (ironic since they’re posting about it on TikTok). So perhaps it could be worth a try if you’re feeling like getting another app to doomscroll on. However, the app apparently contains less “brain rot” and more aesthetic vlogs from Chinese girls showing others how to get their lives together according to old Chinese practices.
It now seems as if there are negotiations underway as Trump stated that his administration would work towards a deal where “the United States have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture”. The deal appears to be that the company Oracle would manage data and software updates, although it is unclear whether this is pertaining to just the US or TikTok in its entirety.
Something that I’ve seen a lot of TikToks about since the ban was lifted though, is that some searches and videos do not show up in America, but they show up for everyone in the rest of the world. It also seems like the ads have changed in the American part of TikTok, with ads for Meta and similar stuff, which have never been there before (and I’ve yet to see one). Now, I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but it does seem a bit strange to me. Especially since the timing of it happening is quite strange, I find it hard to believe that it is a coincidence if I’m gonna be honest. But what do I know?
With all this said, the fate of TikTok in the US is not decided yet, so it’s difficult to say what will happen. I personally believe that it will be difficult for it to be completely banned since that just seems to drive the people to another app that actually is Chinese, but maybe that is just wishful thinking. As stated earlier, the ban was postponed for 75 days, so if no deal is made before then, the app could potentially get banned again, but who’s to say for sure?
Anyhow, I certainly will be tuning in to my favourite reality show, USA.
