Photo Credit: Kon Karampelas
TikTok has revealed that it boasts more than 100 million American users, or approximately 30 percent of U.S. residents.
The telling statistic (and an abundance of other interesting information) came to light in TikTok and ByteDance’s lawsuit against the federal government. The high-profile complaint seeks to overturn the executive order mandating TikTok’s stateside ban unless Beijing-based ByteDance sells the platform to an American buyer by mid-November.
Not hesitating to note TikTok’s large number of American users, the plaintiffs indicate off the bat “that 100 million Americans use [TikTok] to create and share short videos composed of expressive content.” The sizable figure is based upon “quarterly usage” data, and the speed with which the usership came about is arguably as significant as the stat itself.
To be sure, the filing later reiterates that TikTok had about 11.26 million U.S. monthly active users (MAUs) in January 2018. More than doubling, to 26.74 million, by early 2019, the total then grew from almost 40 million in October 2019 to roughly 100 million presently – a 250 percent increase in under one year.
Also worth mentioning is that TikTok maintains 50 million daily active users (DAUs) in America, per the legal text, meaning that approximately half of its MAUs utilize the app every day. Interestingly, though, Snapchat garnered an average of 90 million DAUs in North America during Q2 2020.
Additionally, the filing states that TikTok’s global community exceeded 689 million MAUs as of July, following India’s late-June ban of the platform and 58 other apps owned by China-headquartered companies. (TikTok previously signaled that it had some 800 million global MAUs, about 200 million of whom were located in India. That global MAUs have dropped to just 689 million post-ban is a further testament to the platform’s continuing growth.)
And in the event that ByteDance is unable to close a deal with Microsoft, Twitter, or one of the other companies that may be looking to acquire TikTok, the app will have parted with roughly one-third of its community in less than three months.
Predictably, the remainder of ByteDance’s 39-page-long legal filing argues against TikTok’s prohibition, including by highlighting the variety of individuals who use the app in America. Nevertheless, Microsoft – an early frontrunner to buy TikTok – is reportedly still negotiating an agreement to purchase the asset, and sources have suggested that Santa Clara-headquartered Oracle is also interested in becoming the platform’s new owner.
On the international front, JioSaavn parent company Reliance Industries – India’s largest conglomerate – has reportedly discussed purchasing TikTok and brokering a deal for its domestic return. These rumored conversations haven’t yet produced a contract, however, and yesterday, JioSaavn inked a massive strategic partnership with competing video-sharing app Triller.