Why worry about TikTok?

By M.S.

DUBBED “the last sunny corner of the internet”, TikTok is a social-media platform from China that is currently downloaded more often than Facebook or its sister services, Instagram and WhatsApp. Its parent company, ByteDance, is the world’s most valuable unlisted technology startup, recently valued at between $90bn and $100bn. TikTok has more than 100m users in the West as well as in China. But its worldwide impact and its Chinese provenance leave some Western governments feeling queasy.

Why is the app so successful? On opening it, users are presented with an endless stream of videos no longer than one minute each. They can indicate their interests, and with an upward swipe can skip a video they don’t fancy. Each time they do so, the app’s algorithm adapts what is served up next. TikTok has taken this sort of automated content-recommendation system further than any other technology company, making the app especially engaging. Like other social media it allows people to follow their favourite creators, like their posts, comment and share content to other apps. But with TikTok they can also “duet” with other users, a process that allows two videos to be placed side by side: perhaps two friends dancing, or an original video (one person working out, say) and a reaction video (another applauding the athlete). This, together with the app’s many “challenges” (a video’s creator challenges viewers to do the same workout, dance etc) can make interactions much more collaborative than other social apps.