Short video app TikTok, under scrutiny for ties to China, postpones meeting with US lawmakers
- TikTok has reached 1.5 billion total downloads on the App Store and Google Play, according to data provider Sensor Tower
Short video platform TikTok, which has attracted scrutiny from Washington for its ties to China, is postponing meetings between its CEO and US lawmakers that were planned for this week.
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn was among the first to confirm a meeting with Zhu, following her open letter to the TikTok chief last month where she expressed concerns over how the app could help the Chinese government “gain unfettered and unsupervised access” to American children’s lives.
The seven-year-old start-up has become the first major Chinese social media company to achieve success in the overseas market. TikTok, which has said it would never censor videos that displeased the ruling Chinese Communist Party, has reached 1.5 billion total downloads on the App Store and Google Play, according to data provider Sensor Tower. It is the third most downloaded non-gaming app of the year after WhatsApp and Messenger.
Will TikTok chief’s goodwill US visit head off China scare tactics?
Separately, TikTok’s parent Bytedance, the world’s most valuable start-up, is testing a music app in emerging markets to scale up its global services.
Resso, which was launched in May this year, has seen India become its most popular market, with strong growth experienced in the music category of app store rankings since November, according to Sensor Tower.
The Post reported in April that ByteDance was working on a Spotify-like music streaming app for overseas markets, with more than 100 people working on it, according to a source.
A Bytedance spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the music app.
For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our award-winning Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.