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In the seven years since TikTok was born as a distinct segment lip-syncing app for Chinese teenagers, the platform has reshaped the media panorama — forcing U.S. tech giants to reckon with a overseas rival. The short-form video platform has amassed startling financial energy, with greater than a billion customers and income anticipated to surpass YouTube’s, at almost $25 billion by 2025.
Critics argue that TikTok’s Chinese father or mother firm, ByteDance, makes the app a nationwide safety risk, doubtlessly permitting it to share information about its American customers or steer its algorithms at Beijing’s behest. This concern has spiraled right into a slew of political motion: A former president tried to ban the platform, and greater than two dozen states have barred the app from government-owned gadgets — a panic that some describe as a risk to free speech in America.
The debate over TikTok is a stand-in for a number of political discontents. Here’s how TikTok went from a teen sensation to Washington’s boogeyman: