On April 24, US President Joe Biden signed a bill that would ban TikTok if its owner ByteDance does not sell the app.
The bill requires ByteDance to complete a deal within nine months, with a possible 90-day extension for completion. After this period, the US will block app stores from offering the app.
TikTok will challenge this decision in court and we are in for a long legal battle. But many countries around the world have already banned the app and ByteDance has had no chance of reviving it. These moves impacted ByteDance’s operations in these countries, as well as creator economy-related creators and startups.
Here’s how these bans affect other markets.
- India: This is perhaps the most well-known TikTok ban, as India is one of the largest consumer markets in the world. In June 2020, the Indian government banned the short video app along with many other Chinese apps on national security grounds. ByteDance’s other popular app, Helo, was also on the list of banned apps at the time.
Members of the Working Journalist of India (WJI) hold placards calling on citizens to remove Chinese apps and stop using Chinese products during a demonstration against Chinese newspaper Global Times on June 30, 2020 in New Delhi . – TikTok on June 30 denied sharing information about Indian users with the Chinese government after New Delhi banned the hugely popular app, citing national security and privacy concerns.
“TikTok continues to comply with all privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with foreign governments, including the Chinese government,” the company, owned by China’s ByteDance, said. (Photo by Prakash SINGH / AFP) (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images)
- Afghanistan: In 2022, the Taliban banned TikTok along with PlayerUnkown’s Battleground (PUBG) for “misleading youth.” In February, Wired reported that many creators in the country were using VPNs to create videos and reach different audiences on TikTok. The report found that the number of TikTok users in Afghanistan is estimated to be between 325,000 and 2 million.
- Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan has restricted the use of TikTok in the country since July 2021. In 2022, lawmakers proposed a complete ban after several people used VPNs to use the service.
- Senegal: In August 2023, Senegal blocked TikTok following the conviction of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko. Citizens used the platform to register dissent, which led to a ban. In October, authorities asked ByteDance to create a way for officials to remove accounts.
- Somalia: Somalia banned TikTok – along with Telegram and betting site 1xBet – around the same time as Senegal. However, Somali authorities said these platforms were being used to “spread horrific content and misinformation to the public.”
- Kyrgyzstan: August 2023 was not a great month for TikTok. Kyrgyz authorities also blocked the platform, saying it was harmful to “the health and development of children.” The country’s culture ministry added that young people were trying to re-enact certain videos, endangering their lives.
- Nepal: Nepal banned TikTok in November 2023 because the government believed the app disrupted “social harmony” and had an impact on “family and social structures.” Authorities were also concerned about increasing cybercrime on the platform: local media reported 1,600 cases related to TikTok in the last four years. According to a BBC Media action report published in 2023, TikTok was the third most popular social media platform in the country after YouTube and Facebook.
- Further bans: Iran has banned most major social networks in the country, including TikTok. However, the exact date of the ban is unknown. Additionally, several countries and regions, including the US, Canada, UK, Belgium, EU, New Zealand and Australia, have banned TikTok from official devices.
Effects of the bans
Multiple reports have captured the impact of the TikTok ban on creators who relied on the short-video platform to gain reach and even make money. Many small businesses also use TikTok to promote their brands in different ways.
In many ways, the ban on TikTok in India was a pivotal moment as Instagram rushed to launch Reels in India to replace the platform. A few months later, Meta (then Facebook) launched Reels in the US. YouTube also followed suit and launched Shorts in India.
However, the ban on TikTok also gave rise to many local short video apps. Twitter and Google-backed local social network ShareChat released Moj; Verse Innovation (parent company of news aggregator DailyHunt) founded Josh, Times Internet launched MX Takatak and eventually merged it with Moj in 2022; Advertising company InMobi released Roposo, while other competitors such as Mitron, Chingari and Trell also tried to capture the market.
Developers in Nepal also launched a TikTok rival called Ramailo in November 2023, but its lifespan was short-lived.
Due to the large number of apps, developers have had to invest in making their content available across multiple platforms. Crucially, these platforms may not emphasize short-form videos like TikTok and their recommendation algorithm may also be different, causing creators to lose their audience. A similar impact could occur in the US, where creators are scrambling to find one or more new platforms for their work – if only to hedge against the possibility that TikTok’s influence will wane due to the threat of a ban.
After TikTok was banned in India, ByteDance had to reduce its activities. Earlier this year, the company’s music streaming service, Resso, was also shut down in India after the government asked app stores to discontinue the app.
Aside from the impact on creators, digital rights activists have also argued that banning platforms like TikTok restricts free speech. Some of these aspects could also come into play in the US, as the government and ByteDance are set to engage in litigation.
Last year, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said India had set an “incredibly important precedent” by banning TikTok in 2020. Carr mentioned at the time that the US needs to follow India’s lead in removing nefarious apps.