TikTok hits 150 million US month-to-month customers, up from 100 million in 2020

TikTok mentioned on Monday the short-video sharing app now has 150 million month-to-month energetic customers within the United States, up from 100 million it mentioned it had in 2020.

The Chinese-owned app confirmed the determine forward of TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony set for Thursday earlier than the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

On Friday, six extra U.S. senators backed bipartisan laws to offer President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok on nationwide safety grounds. Last week, TikTok mentioned the Biden administration demanded that its Chinese house owners divest their stake within the app or it may face a U.S. ban.

The app faces rising strain in Washington together with calls to ban the app by many in Congress who concern its U.S. person knowledge may fall into the palms of China’s authorities. TikTok mentioned in September 2021 that globally it had greater than 1 billion month-to-month customers.

Senate Intelligence Committee chair Mark Warner, who’s cosponsoring laws to offer the administration extra powers to ban TikTok, mentioned at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast that he didn’t suppose TikTok U.S. knowledge was secure.

“This notional idea that the data can be made safe under (Chinese Communist Party) law, just doesn’t, doesn’t pass the smell test.”

TikTok mentioned it has spent greater than $1.5 billion on rigorous knowledge safety efforts, rejects spying allegations and mentioned “if protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access.”

The new figures are an indication of the app’s large reputation particularly amongst youthful Americans. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo instructed Bloomberg News there may very well be political ramifications to banning TikTok. “The politician in me thinks you’re gonna literally lose every voter under 35, forever,” she mentioned.

Some TikTok content material creators will come to Washington this week to make the case why the app shouldn’t be banned.

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