US lawmakers have introduced a bill that could force TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its ownership of TikTok in the US within 165 days or face a ban. The bill, titled the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, aims to address national security concerns. Meanwhile, TikTok's e-commerce ambitions are facing backlash, with users complaining about cluttered feeds and intrusive advertising. Despite these challenges, TikTok met its ad-sales growth targets for the second half of 2023, though it did not exceed them.
Key takeaways:
- TikTok is experiencing its first stagnation in user growth in the US, with a 9% decline in average monthly users aged 18-24 from 2022 to 2023, according to The Wall Street Journal.
- The social media platform is facing several challenges, including a licensing dispute with Universal Music Group, growing competition from Instagram Reels, a potential forced sale of its US operations, and a lukewarm foray into e-commerce.
- A US bill, titled the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, could force ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, to sell its ownership of TikTok in the US within 165 days or face a ban.
- TikTok's e-commerce ambitions are also facing backlash, with users complaining about cluttered feeds and intrusive advertising. Despite this, the company is reportedly targeting a tenfold increase in its US e-commerce business to as much as $17.5 billion this year.