BUT IS THE CLOCK TICKING ON TIKTOK?
It’s the app that went viral in lockdown. From rapper Curtis Roach’s improvised Bored In The House anthem, to comedian Sarah Cooper’s impressions of Donald Trump, Tiktok has so far captured the spirit of 2020 more than any other medium – and become the latest social media sensation in the process. Users were estimated at 800 million, even before thousands more bored teenagers (and many of their parents) joined those watching and sharing clips of themselves dancing, performing comedy skits and – confusingly for new users – lip-syncing to other people’s videos.
And then Tiktok found itself the focus of a geopolitical row. Amid Us-chinese tensions, Donald Trump this month issued an executive order that would ban the Beijing-owned app from operating in the US by 15 September, unless it is sold. As Grazia went to press, tech giant Microsoft had confirmed it was in talks to buy the US operation, but Tiktok’s US future seems far from secure as Microsoft founder Bill Gates warned it was ‘a poisoned chalice. Being big in the social media business is no simple game,’ he told Wired magazine.
After launching a version in China in 2016, parent company Bytedance – founded by software designer Zhang Yiming, now a billionaire – took the app global two years ago. Margi Murphy, technology reporter at The Telegraph, explains, ‘Bytedance has really ramped up all its AI specialists who help develop its algorithm. It’s looking at what you’re watching, taking into account dwell time on each video, what you’re liking... then it’s regurgitating that back to you.’ In contrast, rivals such as Facebook and Youtube have, in the face of a backlash against Big Tech, ‘actually made their products less addictive’.
Brands have been keen to reach Tiktok’s swelling numbers of users – spend a little time on there and you’ll soon be targeted by video ads of outfits you can shop. Sara Mccorquodale, CEO of digital trends platform CORQ and author of Influence, says, ‘Some brands perhaps have anxiety over being late adopters.’ But, she adds, ‘Whether or not you decide to produce content on Tiktok, you’re going to find yourself in a position where more entertainment-led short-form video is going to be required of you. So the influence of Tiktok has been this ripple across the internet.’
In tandem, its political significance has grown. After the 2016 US presidential race was dubbed the ‘Facebook election’, Trump’s bid for re-election in November could mark the first ‘Tiktok election’ – which may explain some of his hostility. In June, Tiktok users claimed to have disrupted a Trump rally in Oklahoma by massbooking tickets they didn’t use, leaving the arena embarrassingly empty.
In response, Tiktok has stressed its neutrality. ‘We are not political, we do not accept political advertising and have no agenda,’ CEO Kevin Mayer said recently. That hasn’t silenced its critics – or quashed privacy concerns amid White House claims that user data could be shared with the Chinese regime. Tiktok denies it shares information with the Chinese government and a Tiktok spokesperson has previously said the company has ‘no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience’.
The US isn’t the only country rattled by its rise, as social media continues to shape culture across borders. Egypt recently sentenced five young women to two years in prison for their Tiktok videos, accusing them of ‘violating the values and principles’ of its society.
Rivals, meanwhile, are snapping at Tiktok’s heels. Just this month, Facebook-owned Instagram rolled out Reels, seen as a rival platform. Only time will tell if Tiktok will continue to conquer all.