TikTok to reach 150 million US monthly users, up from 100 million in 2020: Report
WASHINGTON: TikTok said on Monday that the short-form video-sharing app now has 150 million monthly active users in the US, up from its claim of 100 million in 2020.
The Chinese-owned app confirmed the figure ahead of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s scheduled testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday.
On Friday, six more US senators backed bipartisan legislation that would give President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok on national security grounds. Last week, TikTok said the Biden administration demanded that its Chinese owners divest their stake in the app or it could face a US ban.
The app is facing growing pressure in Washington, including many members of Congress calling for the app to be banned because they fear its US user data could fall into the hands of the Chinese government. TikTok said in September 2021 that it has more than a billion monthly users worldwide.
Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, who is supporting legislation to give the administration more authority to ban TikTok, told the Christian Science Monitor breakfast that he doesn’t think TikTok’s US data is secure.
“This imaginary idea that data can be made safe under (Chinese Communist Party) law just doesn’t pass the smell test.”
TikTok said it had spent more than $1.5 billion on tough data security measures, rejecting spying allegations and saying that “if the goal is to protect national security, the sale does not solve the problem: the change of ownership does not impose new restrictions on data flows or access.”
The new numbers are a sign of the app’s widespread popularity, especially among younger Americans. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Bloomberg News that banning TikTok could have political consequences. “The politician in me thinks you lose literally every voter under 35 forever,” he said.
Some TikTok creators are coming to Washington this week to argue why the app shouldn’t be banned.
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