One billion users, but trouble mounts for TikTok
TikTok's breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has brought plenty of scrutiny, particularly over its links to China.
Several governments have banned the app from their equipment over fears that data could be viewed by officials in Beijing, and the United States is now trying to force Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its prized asset.
So is TikTok a spying tool for Beijing, a fun video-sharing app, or both?
Global action against TikTok kicked off in earnest in India in 2020.
It was among the Chinese apps barred after deadly clashes on the border between India and China, with New Delhi saying it was defending its sovereignty.
The same year, US President Donald Trump threatened a ban and accused TikTok of spying for China, an idea that has gained ground in Washington.
TikTok has admitted ByteDance employees in China accessed details of American accounts but it has always denied turning over data to the Chinese authorities.
The company tried to soothe fears over data in the United States and European Union, promising to eventually store data of local users on local servers.
But the US federal government and the European Commission have both now banned the app from their employees' devices.
And the US is pushing even harder, with a threat to ban the app outright unless TikTok separates from ByteDance -- echoing the threat made by Trump.
Bans have not halted TikTok's growth.
With more than one billion active users it is the sixth most used social platform in the world, according to the We Are Social marketing agency.
Although it lags behind the likes of Meta's long-dominant trio of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, its growth among young people far outstrips its competitors.
Almost a third of
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