[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] 'TikTok' announced on the 28th that its monthly active users have surpassed 1 billion. TikTok is a short-form video platform operated by the Chinese IT company ByteDance.
TikTok stated, "More than 1 billion users worldwide enjoy TikTok every month," adding, "Within the TikTok global community, people of all generations can interact with millions of others."
Especially due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of users increased rapidly. TikTok had 55 million global users until January 2018, which grew steadily to 271 million in December 2018 and 507 million in 2019.
TikTok captured users' hearts by accurately targeting changes in video consumption patterns. As it became an era where people watch videos whenever they have free time through smartphones, consumption of concise short-form content increased.
As TikTok grew, it also faced challenges in the United States. Former U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning TikTok, citing concerns that sensitive personal information of American users could be leaked to China. After President Joe Biden took office, the company was able to operate normally, but it is still not free from sanctions. President Biden signed a new executive order requiring security reviews of apps from adversary countries.
Global IT companies, inspired by TikTok's success story, have rushed to launch their own short-form services. YouTube introduced 'Shorts,' and Instagram launched 'Reels,' intensifying competition in the short-form market.
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