Additionally, the app features a dashboard with statistics on how often the app is opened, how much time is spent browsing it and when the browsing occurs. The block only lifts after the app is exited and left unused for a set period of time. In June 2022, TikTok introduced the ability to set a maximum uninterrupted screen time allowance, after which the app blocks off the ability to navigate the feed. Insomnia is considered a strong mediator between screen media time and mental health symptoms which implies that engaging in screen time pushes out adequate sleep and leads to decreased mental health. Their short attention spans posed a challenge for TikTok to pivot towards longer content formats.
Charli D’Amelio remained the most-followed individual on the platform until she was surpassed by Khaby Lame on 23 June 2022. Many stars got their start on musical.ly, which merged with TikTok on 2 August 2018. It is reported that TikTok Music features songs from major record companies like Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group. If an eligible creator’s video reaches the top 4%, they will receive a 50% share of the revenue from ads displayed with the video. If over 18, the user’s followers can send virtual “gifts” that can be later exchanged for money. The Wall Street Journal reported that Silicon Valley executives met with U.S. lawmakers to build an “anti-China alliance” before TikTok CEO’s congressional hearing in March 2023.
- Daily hours of entertainment screen media (Social Medias) may displace healthy behaviors such as socializing face to face, chores, hobbies, homework, family meals time, exercise, and sufficient sleep.
- TikTok is also able to track information about web users even if they are not users of the TikTok app.
- On 30 December 2022, President Joe Biden signed the No TikTok on Government Devices Act, prohibiting the use of the app on devices owned by the federal government, with some exceptions.
- In Malaysia, TikTok is used by some users to engage in hate speech against race and religion especially mentioning the 13 May incident after the 2022 election.
- These hashtags have amassed 4.6 million and 4.5 million posts, respectively, according to the platform.
In response to the allegations, the company noted that they were committed to allowing employees “support and flexibility”. Another employee noted that working at the company caused her to seek marriage therapy and lose an unhealthy amount of weight. One female worker complained that the company did not allow her adequate time to change her feminine hygiene product because of back-to-back meetings. The company has a stated policy of working from 10 AM to 7 PM five days per week (63 hours per week), but employees noted that it was encouraged for employees to work after hours.
With reports that Palestinians resorted to TikTok for promoting their cause after platforms like Facebook and Twitter blocked their content, Israeli analyst Yoni Ben-Menachem called the app a “tool of dangerous influence” inciting violence against Israelis. In December 2022, with the United States experiencing a shortage as well, it was reported that the huge increase in demand for the medicine was caused by a weight loss trend on TikTok, where videos about the drug exceeded 360 million views. Civil society groups warn that these apps push users down “rabbit holes” and then surround them in an “information cocoon”.
The study compares data from before TikTok even existed to show the app has fewer hashtags about historically sensitive topics, distorting the findings. They have been replaced by versions customized by local teams for users in different regions. TikTok moderators were instructed to suppress posts from “For You” recommendations if the users shown were deemed “too ugly, poor, or disabled”. Other human rights activists have also said that their TikTok videos discussing human rights violations of the Uyghurs have been taken down.
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TikTok’s algorithm leverages this insight to present similar content, creating an environment that users often find hard to disengage from. While typical platforms focus on active user actions like likes, clicks, or follows, TikTok monitors a wider array of behaviors during video viewing. In April 2024, TikTok users started receiving notifications that their current and future picture posts would be shown on a new app called TikTok Notes. The Financial Times reported that TikTok will launch a video gaming channel, but the report was denied in a statement to Digiday, with TikTok instead aiming to be a social hub for the gaming community. In July 2020, TikTok, excluding Douyin, reported close to 800 million monthly active users worldwide after less than four years of existence.
ENTERTAINBe entertained and inspired by a global community of creators.Take video creation to the next level with special effects, filters, music, and more. New Zealand Police Commissioner Andrew Coster praised the platform for taking a “socially-responsible stance” against gangs. A TikTok spokesperson reiterated the platform’s efforts to countering “violent” and “hateful” organizations’ content and cooperating with police. They have also labeled a potential ban on the app an assault on freedom of speech, including Republican congressmen Rand Paul and Thomas Massie.
TikTok creators participating in this trend made videos criticizing products promoted by influencers and asked their audiences not to buy products they did not need. In 2021, The New York Times reported that viral TikTok videos by young people relating the emotional impact of books on them, tagged with the label “BookTok”, significantly drove sales of literature. The platform’s algorithm also contributes to the influencer marketing potential, as it picks out content according to the user’s preference. In March 2024, the Italian Competition Authority fined TikTok €10 million for not protecting underage users adequately from harmful content such as the “French scar” challenge, which left heavy pinch marks on a person’s cheeks. As of 2021update, these individuals are considered Generation Z. Among these TikTok users, 90% said they used the app daily. TikTok tends to appeal to younger users, as 41% of its users are between the ages of 16 and 24.
In 2022, Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) initiated a probe into TikTok in relation to millions of dollars in fund transfers involving TikTok accounts that were suspected of money laundering or terrorism financing. He claimed the evidence may prove the company’s involvement in “human smuggling, sex trafficking and drug trafficking”. Paxton claimed that the Texas Department of Public Safety gathered several pieces of content showing the attempted recruitment of teenagers to smuggle people or goods across the Mexico–United States border. In February 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton initiated an investigation into TikTok for alleged violations of children’s privacy and facilitation of human trafficking.
A third party will oversee the cybersecurity policies, data flows, and personnel access independently of TikTok. Another said TikTok had to employ better data collection practices than Meta or Google due to the scrutiny it received. TikTok responded by saying that Project Texas already is a re-engineering of the app and that the former employee left in 2022 before the project specifications were finalized. In March 2023, a former employee of the company said Project Texas did not go far enough and that a complete “re-engineering” would be needed. The company has been engaged in confidential negotiations over the project with CFIUS since 2021 and submitted its proposal but received little response from the panel afterward.
Platform
By July 2023, TikTok has become the primary news source for British teenagers on social media, with 28% of 12 to 15-year-olds relying on the platform, while traditional sources like BBC One/Two are more trusted at 82%, according to a report by UK regulator Ofcom. TikTok’s geographical use in 2019 has shown that 43% of new users were from India before the social platform was banned in the country. The momentum of digital feminist movements through platforms like TikTok have additionally encouraged many social media agents and marketing campaigns around the world to adopt some degree of feminism as a part of their online image or personal brand. In July 2025, Media Matters reported that Google’s Veo 3 text-to-video model for AI-generated content is being used to generate large numbers of dehumanizing and violent videos with racist and antisemitic tropes which are being shared on TikTok. In October 2019, TikTok removed about two dozen accounts that were responsible for posting ISIL propaganda and execution videos on the app.
- However, a few days later, users on Twitter discovered that the software uses code from the open-source OBS Studio.
- The company’s survey reported that nearly 50% of social media users find it stressful to watch a video longer than a minute and a third of users watch videos at double speed.
- Concerns have been raised about the potential control and influence of the Chinese government over TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, in particular the extraterritorial implications of China’s 2017 National Intelligence Law.
- Its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, is owned by founders and Chinese investors, other global investors, and employees.
About this app
Comment sections of “sexy” videos, such as young girls dancing in revealing clothes, were found to contain requests for nude pictures. In March 2023, TikTok announced default screen time limits for users under the age of 18. The differences between Douyin and TikTok have led some U.S. politicians and commentators to accuse the company or the Chinese government of malicious intent. Out of TikTok’s top 100 male creators, a 2022 analysis reported 67% were white, with 54% having near-perfect facial symmetry.
On 23 January 2018, the TikTok app ranked first among free application downloads on app stores in Thailand and other countries. Employees have reported that multiple overlaps exist between TikTok and ByteDance in terms of personnel management and product development. Its parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, is owned by founders and Chinese investors, other global investors, and employees. Many other countries limit TikTok’s use on government-issued devices for security or privacy reasons.
U.S. Federal Trade Commission
An analysis estimated that Meta, the parent company of vegas casino app Facebook and Instagram, could gain between $2.46 billion and $3.38 billion in advertising revenue if TikTok were banned. In response to the exposé, Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA) launched a formal inquiry, directing TikTok to remove all sexual content involving minors and submit a detailed plan to strengthen its moderation and child protection systems. Reporting in The Washington Post suggested that the virality of the letter had been limited prior to media coverage, having never trended on TikTok. TikTok was also accused by Malaysia’s minister of communications, Fahmi Fadzil of suppressing pro-Palestinian content.
Plans to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations
The average user, daily, was spending 1 hour and 25 minutes on the app and opening TikTok 17 times. As of the first quarter of 2022, there were over 100 million monthly active users in the United States and 23 million in the UK. TikTok’s unique platform organization, of spontaneous peer-peer information sharing, has enabled its utilization for community-engaged, digital knowledge mobilization and exchange between social justice communities. In September 2024, TikTok removed the accounts of Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik. TikTok’s own investigation found more than 12,000 fake accounts, including ones using additional languages such as English and Italian.
The company’s survey reported that nearly 50% of social media users find it stressful to watch a video longer than a minute and a third of users watch videos at double speed. Musical.ly was a social media video platform that allowed users to create short lip-sync and comedy videos, initially released in August 2014. Numerous social media users, including Americans, expressed their opposition to U.S. foreign policy by sharing the resurfaced copies of the letter and its contents.
Underage users
This led many creators to stop creating new content which they were not already contractually obligated to create. Some TikTok users criticized the trend for promoting an unobtainable beauty standard. In December 2022, it was reported that a cosmetic surgery procedure known as buccal fat removal was going viral on the platform. TikTok has banned the advertising of cosmetic surgeries on the platform but cosmetic surgeons are still able to reach large audiences using unpaid photo and video posts.
The company said its algorithm tracks interests not identity, and non-LGBT users also view such content. In May 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that former employees complained about TikTok tracking users who had viewed LGBT-related content. The Israeli Defense Force actively recruits influencers on TikTok and other social media platforms, often with what commentators have dubbed “Thirst traps”. In October 2020, the e-commerce platform Shopify added TikTok to its portfolio of social media platforms, allowing online merchants to sell their products directly to consumers on TikTok.
Content is curated by TikTok’s artificial intelligence depending on the content a user liked, interacted with, or searched. On 18 April 2024, Notes first released to users in Canada and Australia for limited testing. A Meta spokesperson said that all platforms, including TikTok, should face scrutiny. Republican Party—to coordinate lobbying and media campaigns against TikTok and portray it as “a danger to American children and society”.
In December 2023, BBC News reported that it had discovered nearly 800 fake TikTok accounts promoting Russian propaganda and disinformation. Tracking Exposed, a user data rights group, learned of what was likely a technical glitch that became exploited by pro-Russia posters. The users had shared on TikTok an article published by celebscritic.com alleging that K. TikTok partnered with the National Association of Secretaries of State to give accurate local information to users. TikTok removed some of these videos and has generally added links to accurate COVID-19 information on videos with tags related to the pandemic.
As of February 2023, at least 32 (of 50) states have announced or enacted bans on state government agencies, employees, and contractors using TikTok on government-issued devices. 7521, which would ban TikTok entirely unless it was divested from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. President Joe Biden signed an executive order revoking the Trump administration ban on TikTok, and instead ordered the Secretary of Commerce to investigate the app to determine if it poses a threat to U.S. national security. In January 2020, the United States Army and Navy banned TikTok on government devices after the Defense Department labeled it a security risk.