How TikTok broke social media
Whether or not it is banned, the app has forced its rivals to adopt a less lucrative model
Is tiktok’s time up? As the social-media app’s chief executive, Shou Zi Chew, was getting ready for a grilling before Congress on March 23rd, after The Economist went to press, TikTok’s 100m-plus users in America were fretting that their government was preparing to ban the Chinese-owned platform because of security fears. Their anguish contrasts with utter glee in Silicon Valley, where home-grown social-media firms would love to be rid of their popular rival. With every grumble from Capitol Hill, the share prices of Meta, Pinterest, Snap and others edge higher.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “How TikTok broke social media”
From the March 25th 2023 edition
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