User:Ah temple/TikTok

WILL BE DONE BY DEC 9

== Article Draft ==

Article body
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (Chinese: 抖音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn), is a short-form video hosting service owned by Chinese company ByteDance.[4] It hosts a variety of short-form user videos, from genres like pranks, stunts, tricks, jokes, dance, and entertainment[5][6] with durations from 15 seconds to ten minutes.[7][8][9][10] TikTok is an international version of Douyin, which was originally released in the Chinese market in September 2016.[11] They launched TikTok in 2017 for iOS and Android in most markets outside of mainland China; however, it became available worldwide only after merging with another Chinese social media service, Musical.ly, on 2 August 2018. TikTok and Douyin have almost the same user interface but no access to each other's content. Their servers are each based on the market where the respective app is available. [12] The two products are similar, but features are not identical. Douyin includes an in-video search feature that can search by people's faces for more videos of them and other features such as buying, booking hotels and making geo-tagged reviews.[13] Since its launch in 2016, TikTok and Douyin rapidly gained popularity in virtually all parts of the world.[14][15] TikTok surpassed 2 billion mobile downloads worldwide in October 2020.[16][17][18]

Morning Consult ranked TikTok as the third fastest growing brand of 2020, after only Zoom and Peacock.[19] CloudFlare ranked TikTok as the most popular website of 2021, surpassing Google.[20]

TikTok has been subject to criticism over psychological effects such as addiction, as well as controversies over inappropriate content, misinformation, censorship and moderation, and user privacy.

'''A well-known social media platform called TikTok enables users to make, watch, and share 15-second to 3 minute films taken using mobile devices or webcams. The app is renowned for its highly engaging user base and addictive nature because to its tailored feeds of amusing short films set to music and sound effects.'''

'''Both amateur and professional artists can cooperate on content and make split-screen duet videos even if they are in separate locations. They can also add effects like filters, background music, and stickers to their videos. '''

Evolution
Douyin was launched by ByteDance in Beijing, China in September 2016, originally under the name A.me, before rebranding to Douyin (抖音) in December 2016. ByteDance planned on Douyin expanding overseas. The founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, stated that "China is home to only one-fifth of Internet users globally. If we don’t expand on a global scale, we are bound to lose to peers eyeing the four-fifths. So, going global is a must." Douyin was developed in 200 days and within a year had 100 million users, with more than one billion videos viewed every day.

The app was launched as TikTok in the international market in September 2017. On 23 January 2018, the TikTok app ranked first among free application downloads on app stores in Thailand and other countries.

TikTok has been downloaded more than 130 million times in the United States and has reached 2 billion downloads worldwide, according to data from mobile research firm Sensor Tower (those numbers exclude Android users in China).

In the United States, celebrities, including Jimmy Fallon and Tony Hawk, began using the app in 2018. Other celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Alba, Will Smith, and Justin Bieber joined TikTok as well and many other celebrities have followed.

On 3 September 2019, TikTok and the U.S. National Football League (NFL) announced a multi-year partnership. The agreement occurred just two days before the NFL's 100th season kick-off at Soldier Field, where TikTok hosted activities for fans in honor of the deal. The partnership entails the launch of an official NFL TikTok account, which is to bring about new marketing opportunities such as sponsored videos and hashtag challenges. In July 2020, TikTok, excluding Douyin, reported close to 800 million monthly active users worldwide after less than four years of existence.

In May 2021, TikTok appointed Shou Zi Chew as their new CEO who assumed the position from interim CEO Vanessa Pappas, following the resignation of Kevin A. Mayer on 27 August 2020. On 3 August 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the United States on 15 September if negotiations for the company to be bought by Microsoft or a different "very American" company failed. On 6 August, Trump signed two executive orders banning U.S. "transactions" with TikTok and WeChat to its respective parent companies ByteDance and Tencent, set to take effect 45 days after the signing. A planned ban of the app on 20 September 2020 was postponed by a week and then blocked by a federal judge. President Biden revoked the ban in a new executive order in June 2021. The app has been banned by the government of India since June 2020 along with 223 other Chinese apps in view of privacy concerns. Pakistan banned TikTok citing "immoral" and "indecent" videos on 9 October 2020 but reversed its ban ten days later. In March 2021, a Pakistani court ordered a new TikTok ban due to complaints over "indecent" content.

In September 2021, TikTok reported that it had reached 1 billion users. In 2021, TikTok earned $4 billion in advertising revenue.

In October 2022, TikTok was reported to be planning an expansion into the ecommerce market in the US, following the launch of TikTok Shop in the United Kingdom. The company posted job listings for staff for a series of order fulfillment centers in the US and is reportedly planning to start the new live shopping business before the end of the year.

Musical.ly merger
Further information: Musical.ly

On 9 November 2017, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, spent up to the U.S. $1 billion to purchase musical.ly, a startup headquartered in Shanghai with an overseas office in Santa Monica, California, U.S. Musical.ly was a social media video platform that allowed users to create short lip-sync and comedy videos, initially released in August 2014. It was well known, especially to the younger audience. Looking forward to leveraging the U.S. digital platform's young user base, TikTok merged with musical.ly on 2 August 2018 to create a larger video community, with existing accounts and data consolidated into one app, keeping the title TikTok. This ended musical.ly and made TikTok a worldwide app, excluding China, since China already has Douyin.

'''Musical.ly was a Chinese social media network where users could produce and share short lip-sync movies. Its Chinese headquarters are in Shanghai, and its American branch is in Santa Monica, California. In April 2014, the first prototype was unveiled, and in August of that same year, the official version was introduced. Users of the program could make lip-syncing music videos that ranged in length from 15 to 1 minutes, chose the musical tracks to go with it, use multiple speed settings (such as time-lapse, fast, normal, slow motion, and epic), and add pre-set filters and effects. Additionally, the app allowed users to browse popular "musers," material, popular music, noises, and hashtags as well as communicate in a special way with their followers.'''

'''Over 90 million users were registered on Musical.ly in June 2016, up from 10 million the previous month. The app had more than 200 million users as of May 31, 2017.'''

'''On November 10, 2017, ByteDance Ltd. purchased Musical.ly Inc., then on August 2, 2018, it merged with TikTok. TikTok Inc. replaced Musical.ly Inc. as the company's name at the same time.'''

'''The Wall Street Journal reported on November 9, 2017, that Musical.ly Inc. has been sold to Bytedance Technology Co., which runs the Toutiao program, for up to US$1 billion. Recode predicted that the sale would only be for about US$800 million, though. Bytedance combined the Musical.ly and TikTok user accounts on August 2, 2018, combining the two applications into one while preserving the name TikTok. Users could still create 15- to 1-minute-long videos, but they now had access to more filters and effects, as well as improved editing and publishing tools and higher-quality code..'''

User privacy concerns
Privacy concerns have also been brought up regarding the app. In its privacy policy, TikTok lists that it collects usage information, IP addresses, a user's mobile carrier, unique device identifiers, keystroke patterns, and location data, among other data. Web developers Talal Haj Bakry and Tommy Mysk said that allowing videos and other content to be shared by the app's users through HTTP puts the users' data privacy at risk.

In January 2020, Check Point Research discovered a security flaw in TikTok which could have allowed hackers access to user accounts using SMS. In February, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman criticised the app, calling it "spyware," and stating "I look at that app as so fundamentally parasitic, that it's always listening, the fingerprinting technology they use is truly terrifying, and I could not bring myself to install an app like that on my phone." Responding to Huffman's comments, TikTok stated, "These are baseless accusations made without a shred of evidence." Wells Fargo banned the app from its devices due to privacy and security concerns.

In May 2020, the Dutch Data Protection Authority announced an investigation into TikTok in relation to privacy protections for children. In June 2020, the European Data Protection Board announced that it would assemble a task force to examine TikTok's user privacy and security practices.

In August 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that TikTok tracked Android user data, including MAC addresses and IMEIs, with a tactic in violation of Google's policies. The report sparked calls in the U.S. Senate for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to launch an investigation.

In June 2021, TikTok updated its privacy policy to include a collection of biometric data, including "faceprints and voiceprints." Some experts reacted by calling the terms of collection and data use "vague" and "highly problematic." The same month, CNBC reported that former employees had stated that "the boundaries between TikTok and ByteDance were so blurry as to be almost non-existent" and that "ByteDance employees are able to access U.S. user data" on TikTok.

In October 2021, following the Facebook Files and controversies about social media ethics, a bipartisan group of lawmakers also pressed TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat on questions of data privacy and moderation for age-appropriate content. The New York Times reported, "Lawmakers also hammered [head of U.S. policy at TikTok] Mr. Beckerman about whether TikTok’s Chinese ownership could expose consumer data to Beijing," stating that "Critics have long argued that the company would be obligated to turn Americans’ data over to the Chinese government if asked." TikTok told U.S. lawmakers it does not give information to China's government. TikTok's representative stated that TikTok's data is stored in the U.S. with backups in Singapore. According to the company's representative, TikTok had 'no affiliation' with the subsidiary Beijing ByteDance Technology, in which the Chinese government has a minority stake and board seat.

'''When a user opens the app TikTok, they are able to go into their settings and privacy. Under the account section, the user will be able to see two tabs labeled "privacy" and "security". Within the privacy tab, the user is able to see options here such as private account, activity status, and what interactions they would like to enable or disable. In the security tab, the user is able to view security alerts, manage the devices, manage the app permission, turn on a 2-step verification, save login method, and if applicable, access income+ verification.'''

Safety
It’s as safe as just about any other social media platform. It doesn’t infect your phone with malware, but it comes with some safety risks like scams and saved user data. Here’s what you need to know to stay safe on TikTok. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) considers TikTok a goldmine for scammers.¹ To be fair, any social media app that has the ability to direct message (DM) other users has the potential for scams.

Creating a welcoming environment where everyone feels safe and comfortable is our highest priority. Our app settings help you manage your account, content, and privacy settings, including who can see, like, or comment on your videos.

'''There are also community guidelines that all users must agree to before accessing this app that insures the user's safety. If the user does not follow these guidelines, their videos will be taken down. If too many of their videos are taken down, their account will also be taken down as well.'''

'''According to TikTok, any content that goes against the guidelines will be removed, including any audio, video, livestream, photos, comments, links, and other text. People are informed of these choices and have the right to challenge them if they think there hasn't been a breach. Accounts and/or users involved in serious or persistent on-platform violations will be temporarily or permanently banned; we may also take other platforms' actions and offline behavior into consideration when making these judgments. Any incident of a particular, credible, and impending threat to endanger human life in the actual world may be reported to law enforcement officials.'''

'''When it comes to apps like TikTok, safety is somewhat of a relative concept. For instance, TikTok's Privacy Policy makes clear that the platform does gather user data, including usage, device, location, metadata, and cookies.'''

'''Your viewing of videos is only one source of data collecting. Additionally, TikTok gathers data from your communications. When using the app to interact with pals, you might want to keep that in mind. Additionally, messages on the platform are not end-to-end encrypted. This indicates that it isn't as secure as some other messaging apps, which do include that additional security measure.'''