Instagram's 'Reels' has replaced TikTok in India, where the app was banned in 2020.
In the United States, the short video sharing social networking site
TikTok bans in other countries have led to disparate outcomes - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/01/18/tiktok-ban-russia-india-nepal/
In June 2020, a clash between the armies of India and China occurred in the disputed border region of Kashmir, resulting in the deaths of 20 people, including 17 members of the Indian Army. In response, on June 29, the Indian government banned the use of 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, citing data security concerns.
At the time, TikTok was overwhelmingly popular in India, making it one of the world's largest markets for TikTok with 200 million users. However, the Indian government quickly implemented a ban on TikTok, not only making it impossible to install TikTok from app stores, but also completely blocking access to TikTok from internet providers. With no clear alternatives on the market, this created a 'multi-billion dollar opportunity' for other apps.
According to Nikhil Pahwa , founder of Indian technology media MediaNama , the TikTok ban dealt a blow to creators across India who made a living by posting short videos, but it did not lead to large-scale public protests.
Within three months of India's TikTok ban, Meta launched Instagram's video sharing service 'Reels,' and Google also launched YouTube Shorts . Both are short video sharing features that are conscious of TikTok, and at the time of writing, more than four years after the TikTok ban, Pahwa said Reels was the 'complete winner.'
However, Reels has not been able to capture the hearts of Indians as much as TikTok. Pahwa believes that this is because TikTok is filled with influencers everywhere, making it a more international and commercial platform, while many rural people such as bricklayers and farmers post homely videos for local audiences on TikTok. India-based technology journalist Shefali Bhatt pointed out that while Reels is the closest alternative to TikTok, no other app has been able to imitate TikTok's 'unique phenomenon of democratizing fame,' which gave people in rural areas the dream that they could become stars.
Either way, it's been several years since TikTok was banned in India, and TikTok is a thing of the past. 'India has moved on from TikTok. No one thinks about it anymore,' Pahwa said.
In the years since India's TikTok ban, governments around the world, including in the US, Canada and European countries, have increasingly sought to ban TikTok on government employee devices, and a handful of countries have implemented bans on the app, though most are temporary.
In fact, TikTok was banned in Nepal in November 2023 for 'disturbing social harmony.' The specific motives for this measure are unclear, but it is believed to have been partly in response to religious and ethnic tensions in the country. Many users in Nepal also flocked to Reels, but when the ban on TikTok was lifted in August 2024, TikTok's popularity again surpassed Reels.
According to Access Now, a nonprofit digital rights group, at least 12 countries have blocked TikTok nationwide in recent years, but most of these were temporary measures to quell protests or political unrest. At the time of writing, other countries that still have TikTok banned include Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, and Albania, with Albania deciding to keep the ban in place for a year .
David Kaye , a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, said that regardless of whether TikTok is relaunched in the US, the fact that the TikTok ban has been passed in the US will increase the likelihood of similar bans being introduced in other countries. 'The US has been a model for many countries around the world on freedom of speech. My guess is that many countries will follow suit with a TikTok ban, which has offended the majority of Americans,' Kaye said.
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