In Graphic Detail: Why TikTok still faces an uphill battle in the U.S.

"When TikTok confirmed its U.S.-China deal was completed on Jan. 22, it felt like the five-year-long battle had finally come to an end. But under its new majority American-owned entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture, app outages, changes to its privacy policy, as well as concerns about the company censoring politically sensitive content, have already sparked backlash and worry among its users and creators."

"Last year, research from Pew Research Center found that 43% of U.S. adults under 30 (18 to 29) now regularly get their news from TikTok, up from 9% since 2020. Even a quarter (25%) of adults between the ages of 30 to 49 said they regularly get news from the entertainment app, up from only 2% in 2020. Which is to say that TikTok's main audience is aware of what's transpired regarding its U.S. ownership deal, and the subsequent perspectives on changes to its privacy policy, through the content shown in their For You Pages."

"When it comes to privacy, there's always the issue around consumer trust. Namely that nowadays consumers are very aware that platforms, retailers, et al, collect their data. Why? There's a huge difference between sharing data, and surveillance. According to the chart, 94% of customers refuse to do business with organizations that do not employ secure data handling practices. Moreover, for 86% of the U.S. population, data privacy is a concern. Added to that, 85% of adults globally strongly desire to protect their online privacy, while 80% public feel uncomfortable with how companies will use their data."

TikTok completed a U.S.-China ownership deal on Jan. 22, forming majority American-owned TikTok USDS Joint Venture. App outages, privacy-policy changes, and concerns about censoring politically sensitive content have provoked backlash and worry among users and creators. Young adults rely increasingly on TikTok for news: 43% of U.S. adults aged 18–29 and 25% of those aged 30–49 regularly get news from the app. Consumer concern about data privacy is high: 94% of customers avoid organizations without secure data practices, 86% of U.S. adults view data privacy as a concern, and large majorities want stronger online privacy protections. These factors complicate TikTok's U.S. standing despite the ownership deal.

Read at Digiday