The only thing keeping this photo/video social media app alive and kicking is the tiny chance that the clock sounding app is banned.

If the clock app is not banned, then the other app will disappear.

Snapchat

TikTok

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testimony updates: Company hopes to stave off possible ban

A high-stakes standoff between the U.S. government and social media app TikTok over a potential ban is set for a reckoning on Thursday when TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before a committee of House lawmakers.

The China-based app, which counts more than 150 million U.S. users each month, has faced growing scrutiny from government officials over fears that user data could fall into the possession of the Chinese government and the app could be weaponized by China to spread misinformation.

There is no evidence that TikTok has shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government, but policymakers fear that the Chinese government could compel the company to do so.

The hearing adjourned Thursday afternoon after roughly five hours of pointed questioning from dozens of House members across both major parties.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, closed the proceeding with a return to an issue that animated many of the questions volleyed by Republicans and Democrats alike: data security.

Crenshaw said while TikTok may not have shared U.S. user data with the Chinese government yet, he said the company could be forced to comply with a future data request.

“Maybe you haven’t done it yet,” Crenshaw said, addressing Chew. “But my point is that you might have to.” – Source

Here’s What Happened When This Massive Country Banned TikTok

India banned TikTok in June 2020 citing national security concerns after a military clash with China, opening the door for Instagram to dominate and some TikTok duplicates to suddenly emerge as major players in the vacated market.

Shortly after India banned TikTok, Instagram saw a surge of downloads, propelling it to become the country’s most popular social media app by 2021, up from No. 6 in 2019, and to surpass TikTok in global downloads by the fourth quarter of 2021.

Key to Instagram’s success in India was Reels, its algorithm-based, endlessly scrolling vertical video feed that closely resembles TikTok’s For You Page and other TikTok copycats like YouTube Shorts and Snapchat Spotlight.

Both Instagram and YouTube bet on Shorts and Reels as potential TikTok alternatives: They tested these features in India after the country banned TikTok before launching them worldwide.

Instagram led a 2020 YouGov India poll that asked which social platform Indian content creators and users would turn to as an alternative to TikTok.

A host of TikTok copycats popped up in India to modest success, including Moj, Roposo and Josh, but many creators have instead opted to use Instagram because of its global reach.

Moj and Josh have a combined 300 million monthly active users in India, though this lags behind YouTube’s 325 million users and Instagram’s nearly 400 million.

Moj and Josh have offered creators money to make content on their platform, creating losses for these companies as revenue is slow, which Viraj Sheth, cofounder of Indian influencer marketing firm Monk-E, told Rest of World will be an unsustainable business model in the long term. – Source

Read more on these Tags: ,