The TikTok video application is very popular among young people around the world.
However, the Chinese-owned company has for many years faced questions about the security of user data and its ties to the government in Beijing.
US politicians are debating legislation that would force TikTok's parent company to sell the app, but former US President Donald Trump has criticized the proposal, despite previously supported the ban.
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What is TikTok and why is it so popular?
TikTok is an app that, like YouTube, allows people to post, share and comment on videos, mostly short ones.
They can last from three seconds to three minutes, and users can easily edit the clips using filters, stickers, music and visual effects.
It has become popular among young people who can participate in popular trends and various challenges.
Depending on their age and where they live, some users can live stream video content to followers, as well as support their favorite creators with digital gifts or subscriptions.
TikTok Store (TikTok Shop), the platform's dedicated online store, allows users to buy products, including those shown in the creator's videos.
Since the beginning of 2019, TikTok has often topped the app download charts.
During 2023, TikTok was in a battle with Instagram for the top spot as the most downloaded app in the world, according to Sensor Tower (Tower Sensor), which tracks the performance of companies that own social networks.
TikTok reached 150 million monthly active users in the US in March 2023.
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Who owns TikTok?
TikTok is owned by the Chinese company Bytdance (ByteDance), founded in 2012.
The company, based in Beijing, is registered in the Cayman Islands and has representative offices throughout Europe and the USA.
It also has video editing software CapCut, as well as various other apps that are only available in mainland China, including Dujin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
Singaporean entrepreneur Shaw Zhi Chu is the platform's chief executive officer, although some analysts believe Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming makes many of the key decisions.
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How does TikTok work?
At the heart of TikTok is its algorithm.
It is a set of instructions in the application that determines what content is shown to users, based on data about what they have previously viewed or commented on.
Users are offered three main feeds in their app - Follow, Friends and For You.
The Follow and Friends feeds present users with content from people they've chosen to follow and who are following them, but the app automatically generates a feed for you.
This curated feed has become the main destination for users who are eager for new content, and creators hungry for millions of views of TikTok videos can become more influential if they go viral, that is, more popular.
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Why is TikTok controversial?
Politicians and regulators around the world are concerned about China's ownership of TikTok, despite efforts to convince them the app is safe.
Like many other social networking apps, TikTok collects data from users, but has faced additional scrutiny on how much it collects and who can access it.
Critics in particular fear that the information could fall into the hands of the Chinese government, which the management of TikTok and Bytdens vehemently denies.
In late 2022, a British journalist discovered that she was being tracked through her cat's account.
And in 2023, many institutions, including the British parliament and government, the European Union and the US White House, banned employees from using the application on official phones.
TikTok has repeatedly tried to distance itself from its Chinese owners and has tried to convince regulators with initiatives such as "Project Clover" (Project Clover), which started storing European users' data locally.
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US bill: Is TikTok at risk?
In March 2024, American politicians from both major parties - Democratic and Republican - introduced a draft law on companies controlled by a "foreign adversary".
If the bill passes both houses of Congress, Bytes would be required to sell TikTok within six months, or face being banned from US app stores and web hosting platforms.
President Joseph Biden has said he will sign the bill if it is passed by Congress.
The bill follows previous efforts by US authorities to restrict access to the app, citing national security risks.
Former US President Donald Trump failed tried to ban the app when he was in the White House in 2020.
But Trump, who will run for president again this November, is now criticizing the proposed law, saying that restricting TikTok would unfairly benefit Facebook.
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