TikTok Is Facing Legal Backlash Around The World

In recent years, the app has seen outright or partial bans in at least 20 countries

- Meaghan Tobin

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Russia fined TikTok for not removing prohibited content. The results of a presidential election in Romania were thrown out over concerns the app had been used to spread foreign influence. Albania banned TikTok for a year following the stabbing death of a teenager by another after the two quarreled online.

"Either TikTok protects the children of Albania, or Albania will protect its children from TikTok," Prime Minister Edi Rama said on social media platform X.

That was all in just the last month.

This week in the United States, where about 150 million people use the app, TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, are asking the Supreme Court to strike down a law that would force the app to be sold or banned.

TikTok has confronted legal and political scrutiny around the world in recent years, facing outright or partial bans in at least 20 countries, as governments have grown alarmed by its ties to China and its wide influence, especially among young people.

Despite the mounting scrutiny, TikTok remains incredibly popular worldwide. More than one billion people use the app every month.

TikTok's novelty comes from its proprietary algorithm, which recommends a constant stream of content, mostly short videos, calibrated to keep people scrolling.

ByteDance pioneered the technology in 2016 with TikTok's sister app, Douyin, which has become one of China's most popular apps and drives the majority of the company's revenue. ByteDance knew it could be a hit overseas and launched TikTok in 2017.

But as TikTok's algorithm captured attention spans around the world, it alarmed lawmakers, who say TikTok has quickly turned from a domain of cat videos and dance trends into a potentially disruptive social, political and economic force.