TikTok Hits 150 Million Monthly Active Users in US as Country Mulls Ban Over Security Concerns

On Friday, six more US senators backed bipartisan legislation to give President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok on national security grounds.

By Reuters | Updated: 21 March 2023 10:29 IST

Photo Credit: Reuters

US fears that TikTok could be passing on American users' data to China's government

Highlights

TikTok had 100 million monthly active users in US in 2020
Platform is currently under US government pressure over data concerns
TikTok said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security

TikTok said on Monday the short-video sharing app now has 150 million monthly active users in the US, up from 100 million it said it had in 2020.

The Chinese-owned app confirmed the figure ahead of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew's testimony set for Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

On Friday, six more US senators backed bipartisan legislation to give President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok on national security grounds. Last week, TikTok said the Biden administration demanded that its Chinese owners divest their stake in the app or it could face a US ban.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

The app faces growing pressure in Washington including calls to ban the app by many in Congress who fear its US user data could fall into the hands of China's government. TikTok said in September 2021 that globally it had more than 1 billion monthly users.

Senate Intelligence Committee chair Mark Warner, who is cosponsoring legislation to give the administration more powers to ban TikTok, said at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast that he did not think TikTok US data was safe.

"This notional idea that the data can be made safe under (Chinese Communist Party) law, just doesn't, doesn't pass the smell test."

FTC Pulls Up Meta, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok Over Misleading Advertisements

TikTok said it has spent more than $1.5 billion (roughly Rs. 12,400 crore) on rigorous data security efforts, rejects spying allegations, and said "if protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn't solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access."

The new figures are a sign of the app's wide popularity especially among younger Americans. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Bloomberg News there could be political ramifications to banning TikTok. "The politician in me thinks you're gonna literally lose every voter under 35, forever," she said.

Some TikTok content creators will come to Washington this week to make the case why the app should not be banned.

After UK, New Zealand to Ban TikTok on Devices Linked to Parliament

The Xiaomi 13 Pro has a hefty price tag compared to the company's 2022 flagship model. How does it fare against other high-end phones launched in 2023? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.