The United States and various other countries are looking to ban TikTok because it is seen as a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to spread misinformation and gather information on people that they can use against them. That’s sent TikTok’s parent company ByteDance looking for options to keep itself alive. And the company over the last month has started to push an app called Lemon8 towards US audiences. This app seems to be a version of Instagram that allows users to share photos. It doesn’t appear to have video support, but I am sure that’s coming. And the thing is that TikTok users can link their TikTok accounts to Lemon8. And apparently that’s happening with the biggest influences on TikTok not only linking their accounts to Lemon8, but actively promoting the app. Thus it’s no shock that the app is getting downloads as a result. In fact according to TechCrunch, Lemon8 is already in the top ten of the US version of the Apple App Store. Though I will point out that the app has been around since 2020 and is extremely popular in other parts of the world. Though the app is not yet available in Canada as I type this.
But I have to ask the question, is this really a backup plan? I ask because I’ve written about the RESTRICT act which if passed would give the US the ability to ban apps like TikTok. The way the law is written, it’s beyond a safe bet that Lemon8 would meet the same fate. So why should ByteDance bother with this? My guess is that ByteDance was originally going to go after Instagram with this app, but they appear to now shifted it to being a haven for TikTok users in the short term if TikTok were to be banned. Thus kind of forcing the US government and other governments into a game of “whack a mole”. Also, during the disastrous (for ByteDance) hearings last week on Capitol Hill, ByteDance sent an army of influencers to the hill to lobby politicians against banning TikTok. I’m also guessing that by shifting those influencers to Lemon8, it’s a means to show how powerful that community is and that Congress can’t ignore them.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out as I have to believe that it’s only a matter of time before the RESTRICT act passes congress and lands on the President’s desk. And once he signs it, then it’s game on in terms of what happens to ByteDance and all their apps.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
This entry was posted on March 30, 2023 at 8:43 am and is filed under Commentary with tags TikTok. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
ByteDance Appears To Have A Backup Plan For A TikTok Ban… And It’s Called Lemon8
The United States and various other countries are looking to ban TikTok because it is seen as a tool of the Chinese Communist Party to spread misinformation and gather information on people that they can use against them. That’s sent TikTok’s parent company ByteDance looking for options to keep itself alive. And the company over the last month has started to push an app called Lemon8 towards US audiences. This app seems to be a version of Instagram that allows users to share photos. It doesn’t appear to have video support, but I am sure that’s coming. And the thing is that TikTok users can link their TikTok accounts to Lemon8. And apparently that’s happening with the biggest influences on TikTok not only linking their accounts to Lemon8, but actively promoting the app. Thus it’s no shock that the app is getting downloads as a result. In fact according to TechCrunch, Lemon8 is already in the top ten of the US version of the Apple App Store. Though I will point out that the app has been around since 2020 and is extremely popular in other parts of the world. Though the app is not yet available in Canada as I type this.
But I have to ask the question, is this really a backup plan? I ask because I’ve written about the RESTRICT act which if passed would give the US the ability to ban apps like TikTok. The way the law is written, it’s beyond a safe bet that Lemon8 would meet the same fate. So why should ByteDance bother with this? My guess is that ByteDance was originally going to go after Instagram with this app, but they appear to now shifted it to being a haven for TikTok users in the short term if TikTok were to be banned. Thus kind of forcing the US government and other governments into a game of “whack a mole”. Also, during the disastrous (for ByteDance) hearings last week on Capitol Hill, ByteDance sent an army of influencers to the hill to lobby politicians against banning TikTok. I’m also guessing that by shifting those influencers to Lemon8, it’s a means to show how powerful that community is and that Congress can’t ignore them.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out as I have to believe that it’s only a matter of time before the RESTRICT act passes congress and lands on the President’s desk. And once he signs it, then it’s game on in terms of what happens to ByteDance and all their apps.
Share this:
Like this:
Related
This entry was posted on March 30, 2023 at 8:43 am and is filed under Commentary with tags TikTok. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.