TikTok has been at the center of controversy in several countries around the world and some have taken action to ban it, India being the most prominent example. In other regions and countries, the application was banned on the phones of officials of various institutions. We remind you that in Romania there are also discussions about the “regulation” of the program, which has more than 7 million users.

No TikTok in a country with over 150 million users

TikTok has been controversial because of its ties to China, and the app, the world’s most popular among young people, has been banned in several countries (some completely, others briefly), while some regions and states have restrictions on use. The motivation cited in most cases relates to the program’s ties to China, but in some Asian countries there has also been talk of obscene and dangerous content.

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India is the loudest example, because we are talking about the largest number of inhabitants and there has been a complete ban for almost four years.

In June 2020, the Indian government banned TikTok along with 58 other Chinese apps. There have been decades of tension between the two countries, but the conflict flared up that year, with 50 people killed in fighting in the mountainous border zone between the world’s two most populous nations.

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Some estimates put TikTok at over 150 million users in India, the network’s largest market by number of users. There were also analysts who put the figure at 200 million, which meant more than a quarter of TikTok users in the world.

The most popular Indian content creators on the web had millions of followers and earned thousands of dollars a month. There were also businesses that thrived on TikTok, and the ban was a major blow to small businesses that had found success (also) on the app.

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TikTok has been present in India since 2017 and has grown tremendously, publishing a lot of content in dozens of dialects spoken in the world’s most populous country. The idea of ​​banning such a popular app seemed crazy.

What happened after TikTok was shut down in India? Many creators have switched to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts and some have been able to grow their user base there, these two networks are the most profitable in the whole “business”. Others moved to local networks, such as MX Taka Tak and Moj, but they failed to gather communities of millions of users.

Users adapted to the new reality, there were also content creators who did not reproduce the lost success of TikTok in other networks, but there were also happy examples.

After India’s drastic decision, then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hailed India’s resolve, saying it would strengthen its sovereignty. As a reminder, TikTok is not very far from being banned in the US.

Another country to ban the app outright was India’s tiny neighbor, the Himalayan state of Nepal, which took the decision in 2023, citing content that “disrupts social harmony.”

Pakistan and Indonesia banned TikTok for different periods of time, and Afghanistan banned it in 2022, but users have found ways to access it.

Many states have placed restrictions on the installation of TikTok

In many other regions and states, employees of various government agencies are prohibited from using TikTok on their work phones, citing the danger of cyber attacks that could allow the Chinese government to gain access to sensitive information.

Most often, restrictions were imposed on the installation of the application on the work phones of civil servants in various institutions, and among the countries that introduced restrictions – Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Canada, Australia or New Zealand.

In February 2023, the European Commission announced that it would ban the installation of a social media application on all electronic work devices of employees in order to protect the institution’s data.

The Somali government announced in the summer of 2023 that it was going to ban TikTok, Telegram and an online betting site. The communications minister said he had ordered internet service providers to block access to these online platforms, citing “immoral content”, “horrific images” and “spreading of misinformation”.

Countries with the most TikTok users in the world (data from statista.com, January 2024)

USA 148 mln

Indonesia 126 million

Brazil 98 million

Mexico 74 million

Vietnam 67 million

In the EU, France and Germany are the best with 25 million and 23 million users respectively.

Sources: Reuters, CNN, New York Times, Guardian

Photo source: Dreamstime.com