Users flock to TikTok alternatives ahead of likely ban
Marketplace Morning Report
Marketplace
4.5 • 927 Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2025
⏱️ 7 minutes
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Summary
TikTok is set for a U.S. cut-off on Sunday. The short video social media app has more than 170 million American users, some of whom are turning to alternative apps like RedNote. But those alternatives have their own shortcomings. Plus, with news of a ceasefire deal that could end the Israel-Hamas war, we’ll dig into what — and how pricey — rebuilding could look like. And later: Texas looks likely to pass school voucher legislation.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | When you just can't make it through the day without your TikTok. I'm David Brancaccio. TikTok is set for a U.S. cutoff on Sunday. That's if the Supreme Court upholds a federal law directing the hugely popular China-based platform to sell its U.S. operations to a U.S. owner. TikTok has 170 million U.S. users. |
| 0:24.0 | But both Republicans and Democrats worry Chinese officials could use TikTok to funnel propaganda |
| 0:29.1 | and misinformation to Americans and use the personal data of Americans against them. |
| 0:34.0 | President-elect Trump may try an executive order to postpone the ban, but experts say his |
| 0:38.4 | powers in this area may be limited. TikTok's CEO Shu Chu plans to be at the Trump inauguration |
| 0:45.1 | on Monday. Some users are testing TikTok alternatives, marketplaces Mitchell Hartman has that. |
| 0:51.6 | With the long thought over TikTok ban ban finally appearing imminent, Damien |
| 0:56.2 | Rollison at AI marketing firm Sochi says, |
| 0:59.6 | We've seen over the last few days people are trying out or at least downloading some |
| 1:05.7 | alternative apps from China, such as Red Note. Red Note's been the top free download at the Apple App Store recently. |
| 1:14.0 | It's owned by a different Chinese company than TikTok and also feature short videos. |
| 1:18.9 | I would consider that to be more of a protest vote against TikTok being banned, |
| 1:23.7 | similar to the flight to Macedon or Blue Sky, when people didn't want to use X anymore. |
| 1:30.3 | All this app churning might not last, says Jeremy Goldman at e-marketer. |
| 1:35.4 | Often big influxes of users check out a new social media app and don't necessarily stick around. |
| 1:42.6 | Damien Rollison says some users will likely shift to U.S.-based competitors like Instagram, |
| 1:48.4 | Snapchat, and YouTube, but... |
| 1:50.6 | There is no other app that really fills the need that TikTok has supplied. |
| 1:57.4 | The recommendation algorithm is big because it continues to feed you content, and TikTok has done a good job of figuring out what people will find interesting. |
| 2:07.8 | China protects its social media algorithms as crucial to the national interest. |
| 2:12.7 | Meaning, says Mark Austro at Silicon Valley law firm Fenwick and West, the spread of apps like Red Note in the U.S. |
| 2:19.7 | could raise the same concerns that TikTok and BiteDance have because they are Chinese control. |
... |
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