Among opponents of Bytedance Ltd.’s TikTok app in the US, an easy narrative has taken hold. India, once an equally big market with over 200 million users, prohibited the app in June 2020, proving a ban could have no obviously adverse consequences.
In fact, US tech giants arguably benefited from the Indian decision. Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram launched Instagram Reels in August 2020 and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube followed with YouTube Shorts a month later. Reels now claims over 300 million viewers in India, while YouTube insists “four out of five” Indian internet users view its Shorts.