Can the U.S. Government Ban TikTok?

There’s no doubt that TikTok has taken the social media market by storm. Not only is it the first Chinese social media platform to thrive in the West, but it was also the most downloaded app in 2019. Essentially, this short-video sharing software is one of the most successful mobile apps in the world, and it seemed no one could stop it. However, that’s where the Trump administration comes in.

Concerned about national security and data privacy, Donald Trump claims that TikTok could “potentially [allow] China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage”. Whether you believe such claims or not, the truth is that TikTok developer ByteDance has until mid-September to sell the service to a U.S. company. And, while Microsoft seems the most likely to take this popular app under its wing, TikTok’s future is looking grim for now.

Dubsmash launched over five years ago and has more than a hundred million downloads worldwide. It allows you to create and share ten-second videos, includes prerecorded sounds known as ‘dubs’, and more. Like TikTok, it also lets you find other people’s content through different sections and feeds.

Created by one of Vine’s founders, Byte is probably the most well-known app on this list. The features available are very similar to what you could find on Vine, as the app allows you to edit and share looping videos. You can also use the app’s built-in camera to record six-second clips.

Advertised as an app for users to edit and share music videos, Funimate is another option that allows you to create and edit looping videos. Not only can you add advanced effects, filters, lyrics, and transactions, but the app also lets you cut, trim, and merge clips. Better still, by having daily challenges, Funimate allows you to integrate into the community effortlessly.

While Thriller is relatively recent, it’s already being used by artists like Chance the Rapper to promote their music. Its main purpose is to allow everyone to create and share music videos, but you can also use it for dancing, lip-syncing, and comedy bits like you would do with TikTok. The app allows you to collaborate on video creation and add filters, text, or effects.

TikTok has already been banned from India since the beginning of 2020. So, TikTok users from this country have already migrated to other platforms, and one of the best alternatives was the India-based video app Chingari. Although a bit slow, the app features videos about music and dancing, allows you to change the video’s speed, and includes various filters as well as background music.