Tiktok is the most popular video-sharing app, with millions of users; however, you may have heard about the fire that has engulfed this app. Recently, the United States threatened to ban the app; this means that brands and individuals who rely on it should be prepared for anything, or consider Tiktok Alternatives. Fortunately, TikTok's fame inspired people to create other apps that work exactly like TikTok, in that if the app is banned, you can find other apps where you can share your videos. Here are some Tiktok alternatives and some information about them:

How many governments have banned Tiktok in the US?

As of February 2021, there are no US governments that have banned TikTok. However, there have been efforts by the US government to regulate and limit the use of the app.

Have state governments banned Tiktok from being used on state owned devices?

Yes, some state governments have banned the use of TikTok on state-owned devices. In October 2020, the state of Arkansas banned the use of TikTok on all state-owned devices. Similarly, the state of Utah has prohibited the use of the app on any devices purchased with state funds.

Any colleges and universities banning Tiktok on their school wifi networks?

Yes, some colleges and universities have banned the use of TikTok on their school wifi networks. For example, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of South Carolina have all banned the app on their networks.

Clapper

Clapper, like TikTok, is a rapidly growing social media platform that allows users to share their ideas, lives, and content in the form of short videos. There's more to this app; if you read the app store descriptions, you'll see that it doesn't have ads, it's free to use, and there's no BS; it's all about real people. Once you've made your own, you'll be able to see other people's opinions, express your own support or opposition, and allow others to do the same.

The app is intended to allow users to give speeches with less restraint than competitors. It's similar to TikTok in that you can make money here; it has a monetization feature that allows owners to capitalize and charge super fans to view their content.

Fanbase

You've probably heard of Fanbase; it's an app comprised of a public figure's fans; if you're an artist who used TikTok to promote your music, this will serve as an alternative where people can consume your music and even help you track the record, success, and journey of your music. Everyone who follows you on Fanbase will interact with your music and content, giving you feedback and suggestions on how you can improve. You only need to understand your target audience and the social media platforms where the majority of your supporters are active, such as Fanbase.

Likee

Likee is one of the most popular TikTok-like apps; it allows users to share short videos in the same way that TikTok does. It is independent and rapidly growing; you can find it on Android and iOS; it is currently popular in each store; additionally, it has a large and interactive audience that marketers can use to market and advertise their products. Anyone can use the app as long as you create helpful videos that engage your audience. It also includes music and effects that you can use to improve the quality of your videos. It is now one of TikTok's direct competitors.

The US Commerce Department has announced that it is rescinding a decision made to place Chinese owned TikTok and WeChat on a list of applications that were prohibited from transactions by US citizens. The ban was issued in September of last year by the Trump administration in a bid to stop any additional downloads of the apps.

Presidential Executive Orders

President Joe Biden recently withdrew a number of executive orders by the previous president that sought to block any new downloads of the apps which are owned by the Chinese company Tencent and ordered the Commerce Department to conduct a review of any security concerns posed by these and other Chinese-made apps. The previous administration had established the so-called 'TikTok ban' in response to concerns about data being gathered on US citizens by China and also sought to ban transactions with other apps, including WeChat, which would have effectively banned their use in the US. WeChat has reportedly been downloaded by more than 19 million users in the US and has become a widely used platform for payments, services and games. Biden's new executive order revokes the bans against WeChat and TikTok as well as against another eight communication and financial software applications.

While Biden's executive order rescinded the bans, it nonetheless directed the Commerce Department to continue monitoring applications like TikTok to determine whether they could impact US national security. It also ordered the department to present recommendations within 120 days that would help to protect US data acquired or made available to companies controlled by other foreign adversaries.

National Security Concerns

TikTok remains one of the world's most popular social media apps and China's foreign ministry welcomed the move as a positive move urging the US to respect the free market and not to use so-called national security concerns to suppress China's tech industry. The effort by the Trump administration to effectively ban various Chinese apps had led to numerous legal challenges which had the effect of heightening tensions between the two countries. Last year a US district court judge granted a temporary injunction to TikTok that blocked the effort to ban downloading the app. At the time Trump had approved a bid by US tech company Oracle (backed by Walmart) to purchase TikTok but the move failed to gain approval from China's regulators. The app is believed to have more than 1 billion users world wide and is particularly popular with younger users.

TikTok, the social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is facing a UK lawsuit that could see it forced to pay damages of billions of pounds if it is successful. The lawsuit, brought by legal firm Scott and Scott and backed by a former British children's commissioner, claims that the company collects a huge range of children's personal information when they use the app. As well as harvesting their pictures and videos, it is claimed the app also collects children's phone numbers, specific location details and biometric data which it then sells to third parties for profit.

British Children Data Harvested

Parents and children are likely to be shocked by the revelations, as well as privacy regulators, since the app is used by a huge number of teenagers. According to the UKs media regulator OfCom, it is estimated that almost 45% of children aged between 8 and 12 use the app which represents about 3.5 million children in the UK alone and is likely to be potentially millions more across Europe as a whole.

The lawsuit claims that children's personal information was harvested without explicit consent being gained (which, in the case of children under the age of 18, would need to come from an adult) and constitutes a serious breach of both UK and EU privacy provisions, according to one of the lawyers acting for the plaintiffs in the case.

TikTok Blocked

This is not the first time that the ByteDance's data protection policies have been challenged and Tiktok sued. In 2019 the US Federal Trade Commission levied a record fine of $5.7 million against the company for similar offences of illegally gathering children's personal information. It has also come under scrutiny in India where it was temporarily banned and finally blocked completely from the country. TikTok is also under investigation by the UK Information Commissioner's Office for whether it complies with the UK's data protection rules and whether it protects children's right to data privacy with a report expected later in the year.

TikTok claims that it is only intended for users over the age of 13 but it is claimed that the app is being used by much younger children since all they need to do is enter an older age as there is no additional checking performed by the app. Lawyers are seeking thousands of pounds of compensation for each child, seeking that the app meet its user age requirements as well as demanding that the company provide full transparency about the data it collects and the purposes it is used for.

Developed and launched in 2016 by ByteDance, TikTok is a social media application that allows users to share short videos. In early 2020, TikTok gained massive popularity across the globe, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that triggered the social isolation and lockdown policies. While this application was solely meant for entertainment at first, e-commerce sellers are now taking advantage of it to market their products. With that in mind, here's a look at some of the new TikTok's new features.

TikTok Product Links

This feature allows the seller to add a product link, which enables the users to click and view the products in the online shop. This way, TikTok sellers get to market their products on this platform without necessarily displaying them.

Short Video Displays

Apart from adding a link to your products, TikTok also allows you to display your products in form of short videos. Here, you can demonstrate the actual working of the product and get people interested in purchasing it.

Livestreamed Shopping

This feature allows brands and influencers to host shopping livestreams, enabling viewers to view products and make in-app purchases in real-time. The TV shopping channel feature is suitable for brands and influencers that command a massive fan following.

TikTok's Competitors

Currently, TikTok is competing with numerous other ecommerce platforms such as Shopify, Wix, Square online, BigCommerce, and Squarespace. Despite their different business models, these platforms target virtually the same audience, meaning the competition in this space is cutthroat.

TikTok Partnership With Shopify

In October 2020, TikTok announced a partnership with Shopify that would allow at least 1 million merchants to market and sell their products through video ads. So far, the TikTok for Business feature enables ecommerce entrepreneurs to create and run campaigns on TikTok and engage their online communities. Beyond advertising their offerings on TikTok, merchants can also sell their offerings on the platform, and therefore, earn money on the platform.

When is the TikTok Ban Deadline?

Several days have gone by since November 12, the date popular Chinese-owned social media app, TikTok was supposed to be banned in the United States. Not only did this ban not happen, but the fuzz that came with it also faded away after tense months of trying to guess what was going to happen. Last week, it was reported that because Trump is contesting the results of the Election, TikTok feels as if his administration has its hands full with the legal drama surrounding it, therefore, simply forgetting to come through with the ban. That aside, TikTokers have filed a couple of injunctions that are helping to stall the app's ban.

On November 13, which also happened to the Friday the 13th, the Commerce Department's order to effectively bar TikTok in the United States was blocked by a US district court. If that executive order had not been blocked by Judge Wendy Beetlestone, the ban on ByteDance-owned TikTok would have taken effect on November 12 barring the app from being used in the country.

The Commerce Department reacted to these injunction by saying it would comply with it but it plans to defend the executive order and the efforts to implement it from legal challenges.

When giving her ruling, Judge Wendy encouraged the Commerce Department not to bar TikTok from providing their content delivery services, or hosting their data in the US.

TikTok's troubles started when Trump's administration made claims that it poses concerns to the national security of the United States because the app collects personal data on 100 million Americans who use it. The administration went on to claim that the Chinese government could easily obtain this data from ByteDance, putting the US at risk, allegations that TikTok denies.

Will the Tiktok Ban Happen?

For now, there is no clear indication on whether or not the ban will take effect in the future.

US District Judge Carl Nichols, who on September 27 issued a preliminary injunction that stopped the removal of TikTok from Alphabet Inc's Google Play Store and Apple Inc's App Store will on November 18 hold a hearing on the other aspects of the executive order blocked by Judge Beetlestone. So let's wait and see.