TikTok Shop has been live in Germany since March, but it has not yet taken off – although the first brands are achieving considerable success. Experts see strategic potential behind the concept, which has the power to change the industry.
By Amelie Richter
The end of TikTok in the US has been postponed once again. US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that postpones a possible ban on the Chinese video platform for an additional 90 days.
By Marcel Grzanna
According to the Commission's initial investigations, TikTok's ad archive does not comply with the requirements of the DSA. TikTok now has the opportunity to respond to the Commission's preliminary findings.
By Corinna Visser
The Irish Data Protection Commission has fined TikTok EUR 530 million for violating the GDPR and transparency obligations. TikTok rejects the accusations.
By Marcel Grzanna
The TikTok forced sale is entering the hot phase – the US government plans to announce its decision before the weekend. While Amazon and OnlyFans founder Tim Stokely are bidding, China is an unpredictable factor.
By Amelie Richter
Thanks to the impending TikTok ban in the US, the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu is experiencing an unexpected hype. Thousands of Americans are gaining an insight into modern China for the first time – and being instilled with narratives of Chinese superiority in the process.
By Fabian Peltsch
A sale of the US subsidiary of the video platform TikTok seems inevitable. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, of all people, is being touted as a potential buyer. Critics see a threat to national security.
By Redaktion Table
The European Commission has instructed TikTok to secure election data. The aim is to investigate manipulation and ensure compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA).
By Corinna Visser
This year's Hurun list of the wealthiest Chinese shows which sectors are particularly hard hit by the crisis. But it also shows which technologies and developments are shaping the world.
By Jörn Petring
Short video apps like TikTok use sophisticated algorithms to recommend new content to users. The EU is concerned that they recommend fake news or content that encourages self-harm.
By Manuel Liu
The Chinese app TikTok is popular all over the world. Read all the important and latest news from the China.Table editorial team.
TikTok is a short video app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It has more than one billion active users worldwide and is thus one of the best-known and most successful apps.
The app's concept revolves around uploading short videos of people dancing accompanied by voice-overs. The app is particularly popular among young people. It was developed by the Chinese company ByteDance. The company bought the app musical.ly in 2017 and combined both apps in one single application, whereupon TikTok became known in Germany.
TikTok is called Douyin in China (short for Douyin short video 抖音短视频 Dǒuyīn duǎnshìpín). However, not only the names but also the contents of the two apps differ.
While Douyin content is subject to censorship mechanisms by the Chinese government and is thus purely focused on entertainment, TikTok is the global version, supposedly without censoring politically sensitive content. The international version of the app is banned in China. However, censorship mechanisms have been discovered in TikTok as well. The app has been found to hide keywords, for example from the LGBTQIA+ community, which limits the reach of videos containing these terms.
During Donald Trump's administration, TikTok was blacklisted by the US. The reason for this was the accusation of the Chinese government exercising influence over the app. Although, the US did not end up banning the application, it was revealed shortly afterward that the Chinese government itself owns shares in the company. Thus, the possibility to exert pressure on the company by the Chinese government exists. Furthermore, due to the tech crackdown by Beijing, private tech companies like ByteDance must watch their image and comply with the demands of the Chinese government.
