At this time, TikTok has introduced that it now has over 150 million US customers.

As per TikTok:

“We’re honored to be a house for our immensely numerous neighborhood in the US, made up of almost half the nation’s inhabitants, together with e-book lovers, foodies, households, rising artists and a lot extra. This milestone wouldn’t have been attainable with out the laborious work and unwavering dedication of virtually 7,000 TikTok staff within the US, in addition to our unimaginable neighborhood within the nation and world wide.”

Learn as: ‘TikTok is absolutely vital, not simply to customers, however to the US financial system too, and banning it will be a really unhealthy factor’.

Chew himself has additionally posted a video in regards to the milestone, whereas additionally calling on US customers for his or her assist.

The brand new push additional underlines simply how vital the US ban menace is, with authorities officers reportedly already placing strain on TikTok to separate from its Chinese language dad or mum firm, in an effort to remove issues associated to potential knowledge sharing.

With US/China tensions rising, particularly as China continues to publicly assist Russia, amid its ongoing struggle with Ukraine, US officers have continued to sound the alarm in regards to the dangers related to TikTok, which, theoretically, may share US consumer knowledge with the CCP, which may then put US residents in danger.

On this context, the newest strikes to ban TikTok from authorities workers gadgets make some sense – however the large query, which could be answered this week, is whether or not common customers are additionally underneath menace from the identical course of.

And once more, that menace has now turn into very current for TikTok:

“Sure politicians have raised issues in regards to the potential banning of our platform, which might straight have an effect on all 150 million People who’ve embraced TikTok. To proactively deal with US nationwide safety issues, we have taken unprecedented steps by enhancing safeguards for our US customers. Over the past two years, we have invested $1.5 billion in establishing TikTok US Knowledge Safety and have been constructing a complete framework to isolate protected US consumer knowledge. At this time, we’re additionally proud to launch the U.S. Knowledge Safety (USDS) web site geared toward offering transparency into our commitments and answering widespread questions round our efforts to safeguard knowledge.”

TikTok not too long ago stated that the platform is unprofitable at current because of the quantity that it’s outlaid to handle these issues, and it’s clear that TikTok will do something that it might to keep away from a ban, whereas additionally remaining underneath Chinese language possession.

On which, it might don’t have any selection – the CCP, which must approve any spin-off of the app, is reportedly not joyful with the US trying to bully TikTok out of Chinese language possession. As such, at this stage, it appears unlikely that Chinese language officers would enable the separation of the platform from dad or mum firm ByteDance.

Which leaves TikTok within the center. If the US does look to place extra strain on TikTok after this week’s look by Chew, then it could be compelled out of the market, with no different choices to take care of reference to its 150 million-strong American viewers.  

That may be an enormous blow for the app – which already misplaced round 200 million customers when India banned it again in 2020.

As such, TikTok is now pulling out all of the stops, in an effort to save lots of the platform – as a result of whereas a sell-off, previously, has seemingly been the worst-case situation, that will not even be an choice this time round.

I’ve maintained {that a} full ban of the app appears unlikely, purely because of the sum of money at stake, which might be motivation sufficient for TikTok to seek out an alternate answer.

However possibly, there truly gained’t be an alternative choice this time.