"How to become YouTube vlogstar"... Every TikTok stars' Google search last week after millions of like/view counts suddenly went to zero. TikTokers thought it was the first sign that their precious app had been banned. It was a glitch, but their fears are far from unfounded. The viral video app is owned by China-based Bytedance, the most valuable private startup in the world (~$100B). Before we dig into TikTok's possible demise, let's recap the impressive rise:
Clock's TikToking... Security concerns around TikTok's ties to China are heating up. The US already bans employees of many government agencies (like the Army) from having TikTok on work phones. Last week, Wells Fargo told employees to remove it from company devices. Amazon did the same, then weirdly backtracked. Also:
TikTok has big US market influence... despite being a non-public, non-US company. Its explosive growth has major implications for American media. It's the biggest threat for disrupting social giants like Facebook, Snap, and Twitter. It contributed to Quibi's flop. And recently, it's been trying to appeal to the American gov: it brought on a former Disney exec as CEO and is considering adding a non-China HQ. But more TikTok bans could be coming — that would significantly reduce competition for US media companies.