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Hundreds of millions of users, a market value of up to 60 billion dollars and conflicts not only with the US government: Why is the Chinese application TikTok causing such a stir? An overview.
TikTok is a Chinese portal for short videos. The TikTok application, with which most users access the offer, was downloaded more than two billion times worldwide in the spring of 2020 and, according to the company, has several hundred million users, including 100 million in the US The offering is particularly popular with young target groups.
The application allows you to create videos between 15 and 60 seconds long, enrich them with effects and upload them. However, many users are limited to watching videos that they specifically search for or that are suggested to them. The algorithm that TikTok uses to continuously offer its users additional videos based on their interests is the heart of the application and is based on developments with the help of artificial intelligence.
Parent company ByteDance founded in 2012
TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, founded by Zhang Yiming in 2012 and based in Beijing. In 2016, the group launched the Chinese version of TikTok Douyin. In 2017, ByteDance purchased the singing app Musical.ly and soon after merged it with TikTok.
The Chinese version Douyin and the TikTok application, which is adapted to the world market, are very similar in terms of appearance and functions, but differ in terms of content. ByteDance repeatedly faces the charge of censoring content or using technical means to minimize its reach, which is critical of the government’s policy in Beijing. These accusations are directed against Douyin even more than against TikTok. At the request of NDR ZAPP Magazine A company spokeswoman said: “TikTok does not remove content due to its political orientation.”
Criticisms of the handling of user data
Governments in various countries are also criticizing TikTok for how it handles user data. In many cases, this is related to concerns that data collected from users around the world may ultimately be made available to Chinese authorities. The group denies it.
In view of the impending ban in the US, the next solution is currently emerging for the TikTok business there, but has yet to be determined. A new company called “TikTok Global” will be created. US software company Oracle will take 12.5 percent of the shares and retail chain Walmart 7.5 percent. Therefore, the remaining 80 percent would be owned by ByteDance. The specific share price of Oracle and Walmart should be based on ByteDance’s willingness to have an assumed TikTok value of $ 60 billion, the Bloomberg financial service reported.
In the interpretation of the administration of US President Donald Trump, US corporations would ultimately have majority control over “TikTok Global” if the plan were implemented, because currently around 40 percent of ByteDance shares are held by US investors such as Sequoia and General Atlantic. ByteDance, however, called it a “rumor” that most would be in the hands of American actors.
