TikTok‘s journey to becoming a global sensation began in 2016 when Beijing-based ByteDance introduced Douyin, a short-video app in China. The next year, ByteDance released TikTok internationally and merged with Musical.ly, a popular lip-syncing app, expanding its reach.

The platform gained immense traction in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, as people sought online entertainment while under lockdown. TikTok quickly became one of the most downloaded apps worldwide, but its growing influence sparked concerns over data privacy and potential Chinese government influence, leading to its ban in India.

In 2020, President Donald Trump attempted to ban TikTok in the U.S., accusing it of stealing American user data and censoring content. Despite legal battles and Trump losing the 2020 election, the ban never took effect.

TikTok reached a milestone in 2021 with one billion monthly users but faced growing scrutiny over addiction, misinformation, and security risks. In 2022, reports surfaced about ByteDance employees accessing non-public user data, prompting further privacy concerns. As a result, the U.S. military and various government agencies banned TikTok from their devices.

TikTok faced a major challenge in 2024 when President Joe Biden authorized legislation requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a non-adversary company or face a ban. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the law, and TikTok has signaled it may shut down unless the Biden administration provides assurances.