Chinese App Tik Tok banned in more countries, others may follow

Tik Tok App is a social media platform that has done a lot of growth in a very short time. It was launched outside mainland China by Beijing-based ByteDance to reach a global audience. It increased its popularity during the global coronavirus lockdowns with about 315 million people downloading the app in the first three months of this year, according to research firm Sensor Tower.

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However, it has been facing a lot of accusations and has been banned in many countries due to threats to national security and integrity.

Recently, the Indian government banned 59 Chinese applications including Tik Tok, after which demand has been raised to ban the Chinese app in more countries of the world.

In Hongkong, TikTok has been pulled from Apple's App Store and the Google Play Store, days after a sweeping new national security law was introduced in the city. Users who had already downloaded the popular short video app can no longer use it. 

Hong Kong TikTok users were greeted with the following message when they opened the app: "Thank you for the time you've spent on TikTok and giving us the the opportunity to bring a little bit of joy into your life!"

"We regret to inform you that we have discontinued operating TikTok in Hong Kong," it continued.

Countries that banned Tik Tok app as of date:

• India
• Bangladesh
• Indonesia
• Hong Kong
• Malaysia

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that the United States is “certainly looking at” banning TikTok over concerns that it could be used by the Beijing government as a surveillance and propaganda tool.

After India has recently banned the app, other countries like US, UK, and Australia are also looking forward to banning it as well.