TikTok is the digital equivalent of walking into a sweetshop. The app offers videos of sexy dancing, hilarious pranks, lip syncing dudes, comedy skits - all created by a bewildering array of cute-as twinks and hunks, piped into your phone in one endless, addictive loop.
That said, there are numerous international lawsuits pending against TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance over alleged data mining and breaches of privacy laws. ByteDance acquired the US company Musical.ly in 2017, reportedly at a cost of $1 billion, and rebranded it TikTok. That sale is currently under review by the US’s Committee On Foreign Investment. Chinese company law compels businesses to hand over user data to the state, so there are significant security concerns. You have been warned.
However, under coronavirus lockdown conditions, TikTok’s popularity has exploded with over 1.5 billion downloads and 800 million users. By comparison, Twitter only has 330 million. And, contrary to popular belief, those 800 million aren’t just locked-down Gen Z-ers like Troye Sivan. Britney Spears, Jane Fonda and Mariah Carey all have accounts.