TikTok has become a global phenomenon, reshaping how people create, share, and consume content.
But what happens when it disappears overnight?
India knows the answer.
Four years ago, the app had 200 million users in the country and was still growing.
It wasn’t just a social media platform — it was a cultural force.
Rural creators, small businesses, and niche communities thrived in ways that weren’t possible on other apps. Then, in June 2020, everything changed.
Frozen in Time
After violent clashes between Indian and Chinese forces at the border, the Indian government banned TikTok, citing national security concerns, according to Hotnews.
Millions of users were left stunned. Their accounts and videos remained online but were frozen in time. It was as if an entire ecosystem vanished overnight.
Now, the United States faces a similar scenario. In April 2024, President Joe Biden signed a law that could force TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operations by January 2025.
ByteDance has refused, and a recent court ruling paved the way for the app to be banned outright.
Unless legal challenges succeed, TikTok’s days in America may be numbered.
India’s response to the ban was swift but fragmented. Local startups like Moj and Chingari sprang up to fill the void, while Instagram and YouTube launched features to capitalize on displaced users.
Yet, while the platforms gained users, they didn’t replicate TikTok’s magic.
The app’s algorithm had allowed rural farmers, small-town creators, and others on the socioeconomic margins to connect with massive audiences. That kind of inclusivity was harder to find elsewhere.
In the U.S., TikTok has become just as central to digital culture. Pew Research reports that nearly a third of young Americans use it as a news source.
If the app disappears, larger platforms will likely absorb its users.
But India’s experience shows that something intangible might be lost — a unique voice, a space for the overlooked.
