On April 20, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill targeting TikTok – known as Douyin in the Chinese mainland. Just over a month ago, the House approved a similar bill forcing the company to sell or lose access to the U.S. market. This time, instead of the six-month period, TikTok was given a 270-day period to find a buyer, with the deadline extendable by President Joe Biden for another 90 days if there’s progress toward a sale. This legislative action has sparked debate over the motivations behind such measures.
From a European perspective, this move by the U.S. does not signal genuine strength but rather exposes weaknesses and a lack of confidence. This episode can be likened to Tartuffe, Molière's comedic play, where outward virtues mask less noble motives.
TikTok's widespread popularity worldwide can largely be attributed to the quality of the application itself. Released only eight years ago, available in 75 languages, TikTok boasts over 170 million users in the U.S. alone. Out of 5.3 billion Internet users globally, 23 percent use TikTok. The platform’s meteoric rise to global prominence is not due to a calculated strategy for world domination, but rather its adept navigation of technological and business landscapes in an increasingly interconnected cyberspace.
Another success of ByteDance, the company founded by Zhang Yiming in 2012 that owns TikTok, is the news aggregator Toutiao – Headlines in English. Toutiao has effectively harnessed technology to offer readers a personalized news reading experience.
The rejection of TikTok by U.S. lawmakers stands in stark contrast to the enthusiastic embrace it receives from American consumers. TikTok's success is driven by its innovative approach to content creation and dissemination. By capitalizing on the short-form video format, ranging from 15 seconds to 10 minutes, TikTok tapped into the burgeoning trend of bite-sized entertainment that suits the attention spans of today’s digital consumers. Its algorithmic prowess in curating personalized feeds further enhances user engagement.
Moreover, TikTok’s success is intricately tied to its savvy business strategies, which transcend national borders. Its CEO since 2021, Shou Zi Chew, born in Singapore and educated at University College London and Harvard University, has led the platform to leverage user data and advertising revenue streams to fuel its expansion into new markets. This entrepreneurial acumen has propelled TikTok to the forefront of social media platforms, transcending geopolitical boundaries in its quest for market dominance.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
