Official announcements from the U.S. government or ByteDance

TikTok Banned in 10 Countries Including United States, China, Afghanistan, India, and Iran

Jan 19, 2025, 08:56 AM

TikTok is currently banned in ten countries, including Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Somalia, Uzbekistan, and the United States. The ban has been implemented due to various security concerns, particularly in the U.S., where the government has cited potential risks associated with the app's data practices. Notably, while TikTok is owned by China's ByteDance, the app is not available in China itself, although its domestic version, Douyin, operates there. The implications of the U.S. ban may lead authoritarian regimes in other countries to justify similar actions against social media platforms, using the U.S. decision as a precedent.