"Back in 2019, TikTok was India's national pastime. Over 200 million people were glued to it. You had school kids syncing to Bollywood dialogues, uncles and aunties shooting comedy sketches, and small-town teens becoming micro-celebrities. Then June 2020 rolled around, and the government banned TikTok overnight, along with 58 other Chinese apps, after border clashes with China. Creators were devastated, ByteDance laid off staff, and Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts swooped in like hyenas on leftovers."
"The consequences were brutal. Millions of Indian creators saw their income vanish. ByteDance fired most of its India workforce. In the vacuum, Meta and Google moved in with Reels and Shorts, now carving up what's become a $15 billion short-video market. Local apps Moj and Josh tried to keep up, but they've been riding shotgun while Meta and Google drive the car."
TikTok reached over 200 million Indian users by 2019 and became a widespread cultural phenomenon across ages. The Indian government banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps in June 2020 citing sovereignty and security after the Galwan Valley clashes. The ban eliminated creator incomes, triggered ByteDance layoffs, and opened the short-video market to Meta's Reels, YouTube Shorts, and local rivals like Moj and Josh. The short-video market has since grown into a roughly $15 billion sector dominated by international platforms. In 2025 renewed rumors of a TikTok return emerged after a website glitch, ByteDance job listings, and diplomatic optics, despite official and company denials.
Read at Her Campus
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