What happened when India, the world’s most populous nation, shut down TikTok overnight

(CNN) — While TikTok followers in the United States are worried about losing access to the wildly popular social media app, there are lessons they can learn from a country on the other side of the world.

The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that could impose a nationwide ban on TikTok. Although the Chinese-owned app won’t be disappearing from Americans’ phones anytime soon, many of its 170 million users in the country are shocked.

But here’s what they need to know: It’s possible to survive and thrive in a world without TikTok. And if not, ask the most populous nation on earth.

In June 2020, following violent clashes along the Indo-China border in which at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed, the New Delhi government suddenly banned TikTok and several other popular Chinese apps.

“It is important to remember that when India banned TikTok and other Chinese apps, the United States was the first to applaud the decision,” says Nikhil Pahwa, founder of Delhi-based technology website Medianama. “(Former) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the ban, saying it would ‘enhance India’s sovereignty’.”

Although India’s sudden decision shocked the country’s 200 million TikTok users, in the four years since, many have found other viable options.

“The TikTok ban created a multi-billion dollar opportunity… the 200 million user base needed a place to go,” Pahwa said, adding that ultimately it was US tech companies that seized the moment with their new offerings. had taken .

Indian content creators learned to survive and thrive without TikTok. (Credit: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images)

Life without TikTok

The ban was not without pain. Indian TikTok users faced confusion and trouble in the days and months that followed.

In 2020, Tik Tok became hugely popular among Indians seeking relief from the pressures of a strict Covid-19-related lockdown.

“Everyone in India wants to be a Bollywood star, and TikTok made that dream possible by making people from small towns stars overnight,” says Saptarshi Ray, head of product at Virallo. Bengaluru based influencer marketing platform.

But it didn’t take long for his creativity and business initiatives to emerge in other ways.

A fierce battle ensued between American tech giants and local startups to fill that void. A week after the ban, Meta-owned Instagram cashed in by launching its TikTok copycat, Instagram Reels, in India. Google introduced its own short video offering, YouTube Shorts.

Local alternatives such as MX Taka Tak and Moj also began to gain popularity and funding.

However, these local companies soon disappeared, unable to match the reach and financial power of the growing American companies.

Citing independent data from consulting firm Oxford Economics, a Google spokesperson said the “YouTube creative ecosystem” contributed about $2 billion to the Indian economy in 2022.

According to Ray, Indian content creators quickly relegated all old content recorded for TikTok to Instagram reels and YouTube shorts. “Some influencers upload seven reels a day and get four to five million subscribers in a year,” he explains.

But not everyone was able to get a significant number of followers on this platform.

“Many users and creators fell into a deep, dark place after the ban, and some still haven’t come out of it,” explains Clyde Fernandes, executive director of artist management at influencer marketing and management company Opraahfx.

“The way one has gained reach and followers on TikTok is unmatched by any other platform,” he added.

And security?

US officials and lawmakers have long expressed concern that the Chinese government could force TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to hand over data collected from US users.

Cybersecurity experts say national security issues surrounding TikTok remain largely hypothetical. However, Indian experts say that the purification of their national digital life has not led to a safe space.

“I am not so sure that removing TikTok will reduce the cyber security threat landscape. Unless there is a radical change in users’ awareness about the software on their phones or what they download from the internet, this is unlikely. Change,” the Delhi-based says Vivan Sharan, partner at technology policy consultancy Coan Advisory Group.

US lawmakers also fear that the app could be used by Beijing to spread propaganda, disinformation or influence Americans. With the withdrawal of TikTok, Indians are not immune to those threats.

“In terms of the content and misinformation environment, it’s clear that we still have to deal with serious issues like DeepFax with or without TikTok,” says Sharan. “So overall, it’s hard to see how significantly the risk landscape would change, assuming TikTok was quantifiably problematic.”