TikTok and the paradox in China

Extremely popular in the US and many other parts of the world , TikTok was developed using domestic Chinese technology. However, users cannot access TikTok in China.

CNN describes that TikTok never actually existed in Beijing. Instead, TikTok has another version called Douyin in the world's most populous country.

The two “sister” versions TikTok and Douyin are both owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance. Douyin launched before TikTok and became a hit in China. Its powerful algorithm has become the foundation for TikTok and the key to its global success.

"The two platforms TikTok and Douyin look similar on the surface but play by completely different rules" - CNN commented.

Here's what you need to know about Douyin and the company ByteDance:

"Super" popular

Douyin is a massive app with around 600 million daily active users and, like TikTok, is a short video app. Launched in 2016, Douyin became ByteDance's main moneymaker before TikTok came along.

Zhang Yiming, founder of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok and Douyin. Photo: Reuters

ByteDance was founded by Zhang Yiming, a former Microsoft employee, and was first known for the news app Jinri Toutiao, or "Today's Headlines," which launched in 2012 shortly after the company was founded.

News app Jinri Toutiao quickly became a fan favorite with statistics showing that users spend an average of more than 70 minutes a day on the platform.

ByteDance has applied the same formula with the Douyin app.

Then in 2017, privately held tech company ByteDance bought a US-based video startup and launched TikTok as its overseas version Douyin. ByteDance also bought the popular lip-syncing app musical.ly and moved those users to TikTok in 2018.

The popularity of the social network TikTok has since spread globally. TikTok reached more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide in 2021.

Help users become "swans"

The TikTok and Douyin interfaces look similar, but when users turn on the camera, there's one clear difference: Douyin has automatic beauty filters that smooth skin and often change the shape of a person's face, making them look like... "swans."

CNN reporter Silina Wang takes photos using TikTok (left) and Douyin (right). Douyin applies an automatic beauty filter. Photo: CNN

Chinese women have long faced enormous pressure to conform to beauty standards that emphasize slim figures, big eyes, dewy skin and high cheekbones.

The number of people undergoing cosmetic surgery doubled in China between 2014 and 2017. Meanwhile, beauty apps compete to create filters that show users much more beautiful versions of themselves.

While TikTok also has beauty filters, users can select them while filming, but they don't launch automatically like on Douyin.

Douyin - the channel for online shopping

Another big difference between TikTok and Douyin is that Douyin is China's giant online shopping marketplace.

Promoting and selling products through the Douyin app has generated billions of dollars in mainland China, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Douyin has become a popular online shopping channel in mainland China. Photo: Douyin

As of June last year, there were more than 460 million users promoting and selling online through the Douyin app in mainland China, according to data from China's Ministry of Commerce.

Making purchases on the Douyin app is easy and convenient: Products and discounts are displayed on screen during the livestream, with purchases just a swipe or click away.

Restrictions for young users

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew must testify before the US Congress on March 23 as Washington pressures ByteDance to sell the app to a US company. Currently, TikTok's fate in the US is still undecided.

There's another important difference between TikTok and Douyin: Douyin is much stricter on younger users.

Users under 14 can only access child-safe content and use the app for only 40 minutes a day. Children under 14 also cannot use Douyin from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Even on weekends, Douyin users under 18 are only allowed to "surf" for no more than 3 hours per day.

TikTok recently announced that it will limit daily usage time for underage users.

Douyin has restrictions for users under 14 years old. Photo: Douyin

Which Chinese apps have succeeded in the US?

TikTok is extremely popular in the US with more than 150 million users - nearly half the population of the country.

This is not the only Chinese-made platform that has found widespread success in the US.

Of the 10 most popular free apps on Apple's (AAPL) app store in the US, four were developed using Chinese technology.

Besides TikTok, shopping app Temu, fashion retailer Shein and video editing app CapCut are also owned by ByteDance.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/thoi-su-quoc-te/tiktok-va-nghich-ly-o-trung-quoc-20230325161729098.htm