On the evening of the 18th local time in the United States, TikTok notified American users in a pop-up window that due to the official ban in the United States taking effect on the 19th, the TikTok software will temporarily stop serving users.

TikTok faces a ban

According to the bill signed by US President Joe Biden on April 24 last year, TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, is required to sell TikTok to non-Chinese companies within 270 days (that is, by January 19, 2025). Otherwise, the popular app will be banned in the United States. According to the plan, unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes to block the ban, TikTok will completely shut down its app in the U.S. on January 19, at which time all users will no longer be able to use the app.

In the face of the ban, TikTok announced that it had voluntarily closed the app on January 19. When users try to open TikTok, they will see a pop-up message that directs them to a website that introduces information about the ban. In addition, TikTok also provides users with the option to download personal data so that they can keep a record of their information.

TikTok accelerates its international layout

As the world's largest economy, the importance of the United States to TikTok is self-evident. However, in the face of this potential risk, TikTok is accelerating its international layout to diversify risks and maintain the continuous growth of its business.

Since entering the international market in 2017, TikTok has quickly taken the world by storm with its innovative algorithms, simple interface design, and rich music, filters, and special effects features. This short-form video-sharing app has earned a wide user base by providing users with a platform to easily shoot, edit, and share content.

In recent years, TikTok has not only excelled in the field of social media, but also its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop has also achieved remarkable results. According to statistics released by Tabcut.com, a video commerce data analytics company, TikTok Shop's global total transaction value (GMV) reached approximately $32.6 billion in 2024, setting a new revenue record.

U.S. market: as TikTok The biggest highlight of Shop, the GMV of the U.S. market reached about 9 billion US dollars, accounting for the highest proportion.

Southeast Asia & Other Markets:

Indonesia: GMV of about $6.2 billion.

Thailand: GMV reached $5.74 billion.

Vietnam: GMV of about $4.45 billion.

Philippines: GMV of approximately $3.12 billion.

Malaysia: GMV of approximately US$2.72 billion.

United Kingdom: GMV of about $1.55 billion.

Singapore: With a GMV of around US$391 million, while total revenue is relatively low, it stands out in terms of average order value, with an average merchandise transaction price of US$19.77, slightly higher than the US$19.64 in the US market and almost four times that of the Indonesian and Malaysian markets.

In the face of the uncertainty of the U.S. market, TikTok's international layout is particularly important. By expanding into other high-potential markets, such as Southeast Asia and Europe, TikTok can not only effectively diversify the risk of a single market, but also further consolidate its leading position in the global short video and e-commerce fields. In addition, with the different market characteristics of different countries, TikTok can also adjust its products and services according to the preferences of users in various places to achieve more accurate market penetration.

"TikTok refugees" poured into Xiaohongshu

As of 15:00 on January 17, "TikTok The topic of "refugee" has amassed a staggering 1.18 billion views and 20.171 million discussions on Xiaohongshu. In the United States, with the TikTok ban coming into effect, many users are looking for a new social platform, and Xiaohongshu has become their new home.

The first Americans to come to Xiaohongshu to protest the TikTok ban were initially greeted by curiosity and kindness from Indigenous peoples. The U.S. users explained that they chose Xiaohongshu over other mainstream English-language social media apps like Facebook or Instagram because "the U.S. shouldn't discriminate against and ban a social media platform just because it doesn't belong to them." We think it's a good thing to move here, it gives cultural encounters and exchanges. ”

This open-mindedness has attracted more Americans to join the market, making Xiaohongshu's popularity soar on the Internet, and it has also attracted netizens from other countries and regions to join. In the following week, the pages of Xiaohongshu were flooded with Chinese and English, and with the help of third-party translators, netizens from both countries enthusiastically interacted with each other, sharing delicious food, exchanging popular emojis, Chinese helping Chinese names, and Americans helping with English homework...... Through the screen, both parties find common fun.

In the face of this sudden wave of "cyber immigration", Xiaohongshu reacted quickly to adapt to the needs of new users:

Spatial bias adjustment: Optimized the design of the display interface, such as moving the interactive button on the video page to the right and adding a "OK" button to simplify the registration process and lower the entry threshold for overseas users.

Timing bias adjustment: The algorithm department accurately pushes content based on user language and geographic location to enhance the new user experience and ensure that every user can find content that they are interested in.

In this wave of "cyber immigration", it is not yet known who will be the final winner. Despite the challenges, the "cyber immigration" phenomenon triggered by the TikTok ban has unexpectedly opened up a path to internationalization for Xiaohongshu and provided a more diverse social environment for global netizens.