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\n<\/figure>\n<\/p>\nIn recent weeks, the Trump campaign has also taken out ads against Twitter and Snapchat, claiming they’re “attempting to silence” the president.<\/p>\n
In early July, both President Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo publicly said they were considering a TikTok ban in the US: Trump said the ban would be a way to punish China over its role in the coronavirus pandemic, while Pompeo cited national security concerns. On Thursday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters he expected TikTok to “pull out of the holding company which is China-run and operate as an independent American company.”<\/p>\n
Since TikTok launched in the US in 2018, the app has successfully been able to brush off lawmakers’ calls for investigations and national security experts’ warnings. Most recently, TikTok launched a content advisory council to guide policy changes and appointed a US-based CEO in June to show it was distancing itself from its Chinese roots.<\/p>\n
But TikTok has also run afoul of the Trump campaign for reasons beyond its ties to China. Swarms of TikTok teens and K-pop fans were credited last month with signing up en masse for tickets to a major Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Instead of the big comeback that the Trump campaign advertised, attendance at the rally was considerably lacking.<\/p>\n
TikTok’s reported influence on the Tulsa rally demonstrates how the app has grown into a social media powerhouse, establishing itself as a staple of internet culture and social interaction for Generation Z. The app has more than 2 billion global downloads, and an estimated US userbase at as high as 80 million. It outperforms US-based apps with younger audiences such as Snapchat and Instagram in both new downloads and time spent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The imminent threat of TikTok disappearing from the US has already signaled panic among users and creators, and has led attempts by tech companies to capitalize on the chaos\u00a0to lure the app’s loyal following to their competing platforms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n