What is TikTok?

TikTok is an immensely popular application with millions of users sharing their journeys and expressing their thoughts. From entertainment to weight loss journeys and motivational talks, TikTok has it all for you. For the reputation the platform has built for itself, TikTok has given rise to the most bizarre and inexplicable trends overnight. In 2021, brands utilize this platform as a marketing means. You can buy TikTok followers and TikTok likes to have more reach and boost.

With TikTok's endless hype, it's no surprise that many people will wonder who stands behind this addictive app (can you guess how many people bought TikTok services from Tik-boost.com this year?. Rumor has it that Walmart and Oracle were in line to buy the famous entertainment platform, but all these plans to buy TikTok by the US companies have been pushed back and are on hold. That's because the former US president, Trump, expressed doubts about the app's security policy.

This way, TikTok's ownership itself faced a considerable threat, and the fans and famous personalities left TikTok. But the tables never cease to turn, or so it seems, and TikTok has been receiving continuous updates from the creators. So that question still remains; who owns TikTok now? Let's find out!

Who Owns TikTok?

The application's ownership was in question because of political issues. A billionaire and a tech giant, Zhang Yiming currently owns TikTok. The App is designed by and under the authority of ByteDance- A Beijing-based tech company. This has already surpassed the 200 million users benchmark by 2017 (!). Today, the TikTok community consists of a billion users worldwide who enjoy sharing and consuming short, engaging videos; an insane number, no doubt! ByteDance also bought another famous platform named Musical.ly for a whopping $1 billion.

Following are the additional reasons why the app's ownership has been an enigma all these years:

YouTube Link:

Sad Story of TIKTOK Owner Zhang Yiming | Creator of TikTok App

Why is TikTok's Ownership Questionable?

The former US president Donald Trump's concerns and threats to ban TikTok in the US (he also asked all the military officials in the States to uninstall the app to avoid data leakage) have put the latter's creators in a tight position. From its end, TikTok has denied all such allegations and assured users of their data safety and privacy.

Moreover, ByteDance denied the fact that US's vulnerable information will never be reach Chinese officials and reassured everyone that the servers of this famous entertainment platform are not based in China.

Is Zhang Yiming Stepping Down from the CEO position?

Zhang Yiming has founded the famous application TikTok and was serving as the CEO of the App. In addition, Zhang Yiming has devotedly served and helped the Chinese parent company-ByteDance- to found TikTok and get this far. However, he decided to leave this position and start anew in the company he founded.

By the end of 2021, ByteDance's co-founder Liang Rubo and Chief Executive will take charge of the company and become the CEO.

Here's a quote Mr. Zhang said about departing the CEO role in ByteDance:

"After removing myself from the CEO position and all other related daily management responsibilities, I can focus more on the upcoming projects. This way, I'll have more space and will be able to strategize the long-term projects."

What is TikTok's Current Situation Now- Ownership and Expandability?

TikTok's current situation is uncertain and confusing. However, TikTok was focusing on expanding the business further and announced these growing speculations. TikTok is focusing on developing a partnership with Universal Music Group.

Is TikTok banned? Why were there talks of it being banned in the first place?

As of August 2021, TikTok is banned in India and Pakistan. The famous entertainment platform was banned in June 2021 in India due to the tensions at the India-China border. In addition, 58 other Chinese-based applications were also banned along with TikTok.

On the other hand, there has been quite a huge battle between China and the US government. Thus, the former US president, Donald Trump, issued the order to ban any US business and impose a ban on any citizen downloading the TikTok, 45 days later to August 6.

In Pakistan, the government has banned and unbanned TikTok multiple times. The reason for banning comes out to be the controversial content in the TikTok videos.

There have been rumors that the UK is also showing concerns and thinking of imposing a ban on TikTok. However, ByteDance has denied such allegations and showed a willingness to cooperate with the UK government in protecting the user's privacy and data.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Which company owns TikTok?

A FAQ, alright. One of the major questions asked on social media is who owns TikTok and why its CEO Zhang Yiming is leaving by the end of 2021! Now you know that TikTok is a product of ByteDance. As of May 2021, the deal between Oracle, Walmart, and TikTok is in uncertainty.

Is TikTok a public-traded company?

Many of you might think of TikTok as a Public Trading company, but as of May 2021, TikTok is not publicly owned. However, we are looking forward to the announcement of an IPO for TikTok Global.

Is TikTok banned?

The banning and unbanning of TikTok has been quite shaky in recent years. To this date, TikTok is banned by the governments of both Pakistan and India. For its part, the Indian government banned the App due to the poor situation at the India-China border. On the other hand, Pakistan has banned TikTok due to objectionable content.