"India's TikTok Ban Shadow: What Happens After Social Media Prohibition?"
On April 27, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) analyzed the potential cultural extinction and true beneficiaries if the United States were to follow India's footsteps in banning TikTok.
It has been nearly four years since the Indian government ordered the ban on TikTok, back when India was TikTok's largest market. According to the BBC, at that time, TikTok had over 200 million users in India, fostering a vibrant subculture and providing life-changing opportunities for local creators and influencers.
However, following the India-China border clash in the Galwan Valley, India, citing "security" concerns, banned 59 mobile applications with Chinese backgrounds, including TikTok, on June 29, 2020.
Overnight, TikTok vanished from India. While creators' accounts and videos remained, the platform that had just begun to showcase cultural potential was frozen.
The BBC points out that to some extent, India's story may foreshadow America's future.
When TikTok departs, much of the culture it represents will also disappear.
"TikTok has a massive user base, bringing people together from all over the country to share dances, perform short skits, and narrate stories of managing their homes in remote mountain areas," said Sucharita Tyagi, a film critic from Mumbai, India, to the BBC. Many suddenly gained unprecedented attention because of TikTok, making all this possible.
Tyagi was one of TikTok's users, with 11,000 followers on the platform when it was banned in 2020, with some videos reaching over a million views.
TikTok was first launched in India in 2016 when affordable smartphones and low-cost data plans were just starting to become popular. With its unique video presentation and user-friendly features, TikTok quickly gained popularity. Unlike other social media platforms, its interface was simple, requiring minimal text input. Additionally, TikTok did not require user registration or account following; the platform's algorithm provided popular videos for immediate viewing by users.
On February 14, 2020, in Hyderabad, India, a group of young people were filming TikTok videos on their balcony.
BBC reports that this app has a magical power - its algorithm helps ordinary users find their audience in a way that other apps cannot match.
According to Prasanto K Roy, a tech writer and analyst in New Delhi, TikTok is very down-to-earth. "We can see some low-status individuals in India having their own fans here, and some have even seized money-making opportunities. This app is truly special."
Similarly, TikTok holds similar cultural value in the United States. On TikTok, niche cultural circles thrive, encouraging ordinary users to share content. Countless small creators and businesses rely on the platform for their livelihood. Such success stories are not common on other platforms.
Reports suggest that the ban on TikTok in India four years ago revealed that when TikTok leaves, much of the culture it represents may disappear with it.
"When it was banned, it opened up a billion-dollar opportunity."
When a popular social media app is forced to shut down, Indian alternatives to TikTok rush to fill the market gap it leaves behind.
Nikhil Pahwa, a tech policy analyst in India and founder of the news website "MediaNama," said, "When TikTok was banned, it opened up a billion-dollar opportunity. Many Indian startups were established or pivoted to get a piece of the pie."
Indian alternatives like "Chingari," "Moj," and "MX Taka Tak" emerged rapidly, attracting some former TikTok influencers and even gaining support from capital and the government. However, in this competition, they ended up as casualties.
In the second month after TikTok was banned, the American social app Instagram launched its video sharing feature Reels in India. A month later, YouTube followed suit with Shorts. Today, giants like Instagram and YouTube have firmly established themselves in India, while emerging platforms are left unnoticed.
"There has been much discussion about TikTok alternatives, but in the long run, most have disappeared, and ultimately, Instagram may benefit the most," said Prateek Waghre, Executive Director of the Internet Freedom Foundation in India.
Jasmine Enberg, Chief Analyst at market research firm Insider Intelligence, also analyzed, "If TikTok is banned, American users are likely to flock to similar short video apps on YouTube and Instagram, just like Indian users."
According to Sensor Tower data, the total downloads of local apps like Moj and another TikTok-like app called Josh in India have reached 641 million. Since TikTok was banned, Instagram's monthly active users have grown by 91% to 511 million, while YouTube's monthly active users have grown by 55% to 653 million.
Unable to replicate TikTok
However, completely replacing TikTok is not so simple.
"The recommendation mechanism of TikTok is very different," explained Waghre. "For creators, TikTok has a diverse user base. Farmers, masons, people from small towns all upload videos here, which is rarely seen on Shorts and Reels."
For many TikTok creators and fans, they can only switch to other apps after the ban. But as BBC points out, interviewed users and experts alike say that even after switching to new platforms, they still feel like they have lost "something." While Instagram and YouTube may absorb TikTok's traffic, they have not been able to recreate the feeling that TikTok once provided.
On September 5, 2019, in Kolkata, India, Indian gymnasts Mohammad Azajuddin (left) and Jashika Khan (center) gained fame through TikTok videos.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Instagram and YouTube excel at creating longer, more polished videos, while TikTok's casual and authentic feel attracts users. People enjoy dancing to songs, lip-syncing, or performing comedic acts on TikTok.
Gayatari Mohanty from New Delhi, India, started using TikTok in 2019. The free dance classes on TikTok helped her revive her childhood dream. Despite having only 5,000 followers and not making money on the platform, she admits that TikTok is her stage to showcase herself, where she receives appreciation and a sense of accomplishment.
"Losing TikTok felt like a personal loss, as if someone close to me was gone," Mohanty said.
After TikTok was banned, Mohanty refrained from using any other social media platforms for a long time. A year later, she tried using the Indian alternative "Moj," but found it challenging to use and upload videos.
"We have felt a sense of loss since the ban four years ago," Mohanty's 18-year-old friend Moni Sharma told The Wall Street Journal, expressing their struggle to adapt to other apps.
Impact Beyond India
The report suggests that if TikTok were to be "shut down" in the U.S. in the future, the American social media landscape might follow a path similar to India's.
After four years of the ban, Instagram and YouTube have become the homes of short videos, with even LinkedIn exploring its version of "TikTok."
BBC believes that TikTok's competitors do not need to or will not recreate TikTok's culture. The once-representative ultra-localized, niche content culture of the U.S. might vanish, just as it did in India four years ago.
However, India's story seems to have abruptly halted too soon, and the U.S. might be underestimating TikTok's current influence.
On July 21, 2020, in Ocean Side, California, USA, assistant pastor Kevin Wilson has over 100,000 followers on his tea talk account on the social app TikTok.
Data from the Pew Research Center shows that nearly one-third of Americans aged 18-29 get their news from TikTok.
According to a study by Oxford Economics, TikTok has evolved from a novelty to a necessity for many small businesses in the US. The research found that TikTok has brought growth to over 7 million American businesses, generating billions of dollars in revenue and creating 224,000 jobs.
Reported by AFP on the 28th, 170 million American users and 7 million businesses are anxious about this, especially content creators and small business owners whose livelihoods depend on TikTok. They criticize the US government's crackdown on TikTok, accusing that such actions will jeopardize their livelihoods and criticizing US politicians for pushing laws without considering the survival of local small businesses.
Ayman Chaudhary, a 23-year-old resident of Chicago, has amassed 946,200 followers on TikTok by sharing her reading experiences. She expressed concern about living in a country that focuses on trivial matters rather than important issues like gun control, healthcare, and education.
Bilal Rehman, a 24-year-old resident of Texas, shares the same sentiment, blaming lawmakers for prioritizing political gains over people's welfare. He believes that those deciding whether to ban the platform are turning a blind eye to how it will impact all small businesses. Rehman complains that TikTok holds a significant share in the US economy, and banning it will have a devastating impact on millions of people.
Rehman's TikTok account, with nearly 500,000 followers, humorously shares interior design inspiration and promotes his studio's design projects.
While TikTok's US user base is not as large as its peak in India with 200 million users, it still has 170 million users, surpassing 50% of the US population.
Tayag stated that when India banned TikTok, it was not as massive as it is now, with only 14% of the population using it. However, over the past few years, it has become a cultural phenomenon.
"If the US bans it now, the impact will be far greater than in India," Tayag said.
"Will Challenge Legally"
On April 24, US President Biden officially signed a $95 billion foreign aid bill, which includes a provision for forcing ByteDance to divest its TikTok US operations. Under the terms, ByteDance has 270 days (about 9 months) to divest its US operations, or face a nationwide ban in the US. Additionally, if Biden sees progress in the sale, he can exercise a one-time 90-day extension, extending the deadline to a year.
TikTok, which had previously stated it would "use all legal means," responded to the ban by saying it is unconstitutional and will challenge it in court.
TikTok's CEO, Zhang Yiming, released response videos on multiple platforms, stating that facts and the constitution are on their side, and they will overcome the legislation signed by Biden through legal challenges. He reassured TikTok users that they will not leave the US market: "Rest assured, we are not going anywhere."
In March 2024, American citizens held a protest rally in front of the Capitol Building, opposing the TikTok-related legislation.
In response to the U.S. government's crackdown on TikTok, both the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce have issued statements.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin previously stated that the legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives puts the United States at odds with the principles of fair competition and international trade rules. If the so-called reason of "national security" can be used to arbitrarily suppress excellent enterprises from other countries, then there is no fairness or justice, as seizing others' good things by any means necessary is purely akin to the logic of a robber.
Wang Wenbin pointed out that the U.S.' handling of the TikTok issue will make the world see more clearly whether the U.S.' so-called rules and order are truly beneficial to the world or merely serve the interests of the United States alone.
Ministry of Commerce spokesperson, He Yadong, urged the U.S. to genuinely respect market economy and principles of fair competition, cease unjustified suppression of foreign enterprises, and provide an open, fair, just, and non-discriminatory environment for enterprises from all countries to invest and operate in the U.S., emphasizing that relevant parties must strictly abide by Chinese laws and regulations. He stressed that China will take all necessary measures to firmly uphold its legitimate rights and interests.
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