TikTok doesn't exist in China

TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., yet only the platform’s sister app Douyin is available in China. That's because the Chinese government regularly censors Douyin—something ByteDance likely believes would degrade TikTok, its international app.

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms of all time

Centered around user-generated short videos, the platform was created by the Chinese technology company ByteDance Ltd. With over 1.8 billion users, the app has become a global force.

A timeline and visuals on TikTok's rapid growth

The app that would become TikTok is known as Douyin in China, and this article recounts its history, acquisition of rival Musical.ly, and rebranding ahead of its lightning growth. One visualization shows how quickly TikTok reached 1B users.

US lawmakers banned TikTok in 2024 for security purposes

After years of concerns about ByteDance Ltd.'s affiliation with the Chinese government, Congress passed a bill banning TikTok in the US. The main argument favoring the ban is that Beijing could use the wildly popular app to run foreign influence campaigns. Americans opposed to the ban say the law will negatively impact the livelihoods for TikTok shops and influencers.

Understanding TikTok-owner ByteDance's business model

ByteDance has ridden TikTok's major success to become the world's most valuable startup. This deep dive showcases some of the company's smartest moves and tactics, and where it's headed next.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew on its future

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew dives into how the trendsetting video app and cultural phenomenon works, from what distinguishes its algorithm and drives viral videos, to the challenges of content moderation and digital addiction in this wide-ranging conversation with the head of TED, Chris Anderson.

In 2025, ByteDance agreed to sell the app's US branch

In 2024, US lawmakers passed a requirement for parent company ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban in the country, which the company challenged in court. After several extensions granted by President Trump, ByteDance agreed to sell the company's US branch to a group of US investors, including Oracle, which will oversee the app's security and cloud computing.

The TikTok sale went through in January 2026

The app's ownership is now majority American, though TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who is Chinese, remains on the board of directors. It's unclear what, if anything, has changed for American users, as the company has historically kept the specifics of its algorithm a secret.

How TikTok ate the internet

TikTok is now deeply integrated into American culture, thanks to the app’s powerful algorithm and focus on entertainment which have influenced popular trends and social media content consumption in the US. This immersive piece highlights TikTok’s role in helping shape everything from music to fashion and even politics in the US—while its connection to China has also drawn scrutiny and raised national security concerns.

Critics say WeChat is a surveillance tool for the Chinese government.

TikTok explained: how the app became a global phenomenon

Since 2018, the short-form, video-sharing app TikTok has gone from launching in the US to becoming a habit-forming cultural force that’s signed up more than half of the country's population as users.

What Trump's executive order provides TikTok

Just a few days into his second term, President Trump paused the US law banning TikTok through an executive order. While that may sound like an all-out reversal, it's more of a time out, granting ByteDance an additional 75 days to find a US-based seller. This resource breaks down what Trump's executive order provides the Chinese company and what it might mean for the future of the app.

WeChat has become China's primary news platform, due to expansive user base and legacy media's adoption of the platform.

Less than half of TikTok's US users have posted a video

Like most platforms, content is driven by a small number of active users—in TikTok's case, 25% of accounts are responsible for an estimated 98% of content posted.

TikTok boasts nearly 1.8B monthly users

The app has surged in popularity recently, with usage surging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those users have generated high revenues, too, with over $23B in 2024.

How to read the news on TikTok

There's plenty of news on TikTok, but that doesn't mean it's all reliable. This guide, written by a communication technology professor, breaks down the ways the app's algorithm delivers news. It also covers how users can determine whether or not a story is factual or misleading. Most strikingly, the professor warns readers that if they didn't search for a TikTok video, then "it probably found you."

Trump has extended TikTok's sale deadline three times

In 2024, US lawmakers passed a requirement for parent company ByteDance Ltd. to sell TikTok or face a ban in the country, which the company challenged in court. In early 2025, the law took effect, though President Trump paused it three separate times, affording the company more time to sell.

The TikTok ban isn't just for TikTok

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act makes it unlawful for any “foreign-adversary controlled” entity to distribute, maintain, or update any “website, desktop application, mobile application, or augmented or immersive technology application” within the US.

In 2018, Tencent's market capitalization hit $580B, surpassing Facebook (now Meta) for the first time.

Why TikTok's algorithm is likely driven by what you linger on

While the inner workings of the engine driving the vast majority of the app's engagement remain a secret, it is understood to rely heavily on what content users spend the most time watching rather than swipe past. Experts believe the app can develop user profiles robust enough for its algorithm to consistently match engaging content to in as little as two hours.

What Trump's second 75-day extension means for TikTok sale

After President Trump took office in January 2025, he offered TikTok the opportunity to find a US company to buy the app within 75 days. In the meantime, the app continued operating. In April, Trump extended that deadline by an additional 75 days. This BBC article breaks down what that means for the company's potential buyers and for its users.

Temu was born out of a Chinese company that, at the time, was called Pinduoduo

Today, the company is called PDD Holdings, and owns both Temu and its very similar sister app in China, Pinduoduo.

Watch a timeline of Tencent—one of China's earliest tech giants—despite the company's low profile.

Read a breakdown of WeChat, the central technology in Tencent's empire that boasts roughly 1.4 billion users and hosts e-commerce, payment, and messaging services all in one place.

TikTok's 'sonic logo' imprints the app's identity across platforms

As the app's popular videos spread to other platforms like Instagram and Reddit, the company sought a way to alert viewers that the content originated on TikTok. They decided on the sonic logo that now acts as a bumper on all of its shared videos, to attract users.

TikTok can turn everyday users into stars

TikTok is such a cultural force, it’s now a platform for turning ordinary users into stars. This "Planet Money" podcast episode performs a deep dive into how Tai Verdes went from working a day job and dreaming of becoming a successful musician to using TikTok to gain a following.

Listen to a podcast episode that explains how the Chinese discount e-commerce retailer Temu became one of the most downloaded apps in the US.

How to catch a TikTok thief

Someone took a 10-second clip of a parody video made by Hugh Clegg and posted it to TikTok, where it racked up millions of views. The uncredited clip meant viewers assumed it was owned by the uploader, an assumption Clegg was eager to rectify. His messages and comments had no real effect outside of earning him temporary bans for "spamming." So he decided to moonlight as a private eye.

Balancing free speech while curbing misinformation has destroyed content moderation

Accusations of censorship and bias have led social media companies like Meta and X to scale back or abandon moderation tools—just as foreign propaganda surges. Researchers say their ability to track manipulation online has become severely limited.

TikTok isn't factored into a song's rank on the Billboard charts, but it can have an impact

Billboard ranks a song's chart position based on its radio airplay, its physical sales, and its streaming numbers (across Spotify and other platforms), but doesn't include user-generated content, meaning it doesn't include TikTok videos. Keith Caulfield, Billboard's managing director of charts and data operations, notes that TikTok still has an impact, though, because listeners will often stream the app's most popular songs on other platforms.

What's the difference between QQ, WeChat, and Weixin?

Tencent owns QQ, Weixin, and WeChat—three separate apps serving different users. QQ launched in 1999 as a youth-focused messenger. Weixin (for China) and WeChat (international) are technically the same app, but split to comply with regional regulations, especially around data and payments.

TikTok intentionally keeps users scrolling, something researchers have found makes it more addictive than other short-form video platforms.

TikTok's top 10 users have over 1B followers

Influencers like Charli D'Amelio and MrBeast, as well as more traditional stars like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, produce content that keep people scrolling.

Tencent has relatively low name recognition outside of China—despite being the world's biggest video game publisher—operating a 1.4-billion-user messaging network, and holding more than 80 companies with valuations exceeding $1B.

YouTube brought endless content—and endless culture wars

How did YouTube grow from a startup in 2005, to a media powerhouse with more than 2.5 billion monthly logged-in users who watch more than 1 billion hours of video every day? That’s what this podcast interview with Bloomberg tech reporter Mark Bergen on NPR’s Fresh Air explores.

Deepfake videos impersonating real doctors are spreading false medical advice

More than 100 videos, found primarily on Instagram and TikTok in August 2025, promoted products related to beauty, wellness and weight loss. While TikTok removed 94% of content violating its policies on AI-generated content, these deepfakes were watched and shared before removal, undermining public trust in medicine.

Chinese citizens express both support and frustration toward smart city surveillance

Although surveillance is viewed as necessary for enhancing morality and enforcing regulations, many citizens adopt mental tactics to distance themselves from it. Surveillance is linked to China's historical "century of humiliation," following the Opium Wars and Japanese invasion.