Potential TikTok ban impractical

Potential TikTok ban impractical

By Nebal Snan

KUWAIT: Laxmi Shetty, like many people around the world, watched with rising dismay the protests that broke out in Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini late last year. But she didn’t first learn about the unrest in news reports — it was through a viral video she accidentally came across on TikTok. Although the app’s short videos are known for being light and fun — Shetty’s favorite genre is cat videos, TikTok has undeniably brought users closer than ever to what’s happening in the world.

For example, the war in Ukraine, which has been dubbed the world’s “first TikTok war”, has unfolded in real time on the app. “When I want to get to know major issues, I feel TikTok is my source,” said Shetty, a fashion content creator based in Kuwait. Shetty is not alone; the app has become a critical source of information for many. In the United States, where TikTok has 150 million active users, about a quarter of adults under 30 regularly get their news through the app, according to 2022 Pew Research Center data. The app’s popularity doesn’t show any signs of waning.

Conservative forecasts show that TikTok will have 843.3 million monthly