Chinese short-form video TikTok has recorded an increase in monthly active users in the U.S. amid the ongoing pressure to ban the app in the country.

The social media giant on Monday disclosed that it now has 150 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 100 million that was recorded in 2020, which saw a 50 million additional increase of users.

TikTok is set to continue growing rapidly in users’ numbers and time spent on the app, as analysts predict that the number of U.S TikTok users is expected to grow to 88.7 million by 2024.

Meanwhile, the app has undergone a yearslong review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which could result in a ban of the app or a forced sale of the company’s U.S. operation.

It would be recalled that Investors King on the 17th of March 2023, had reported that the United States government has taken a hard stance towards TikTok, ordering the app to be sold or risk a ban as it seeks to resolve national security concerns.

The U.S. government demand is a significant move in President Biden’s administration towards TikTok, which has been under scrutiny for years over concerns that China could request vital users’ data from the app.

TikTok, however, expressed dissatisfaction at the U.S. government’s decision, which it claimed that its security proposal which involves storing American data in the United States offered the best protection for users without any breach of private information.

The social media platform further added that it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security efforts, rejected spying allegations, and stated that if protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem and a change of ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access.

Meanwhile, U.S Senate Intelligence Committee chair Mark Warner who is a corresponding legislation to give the administration more powers to ban TikTok, stated that he did not think TikTok U.S data was safe despite the app’s claims. “This notional idea that the date can be made safe under (Chinese Communist Party) law, just doesn’t pass the smell test”, he added.

Concerns around TikTok heightened last year in December, when the social media platform’s parent company ByteDance, disclosed that it fired four employees who accessed data on two journalists from BuzzFeed News and the Financial Times while attempting to track down the source of a leaked report about the company.

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew will testify next week before the House energy and commerce committee about the company’s privacy and data security practices, as well as its relationship with the Chinese government.

If eventually TikTok is banned in the U.S., it would no doubt affect certain significant groups in the country, owing to the fact that the app is a major social influence. It is used broadly by students, content creators, journalists, etc.

It is also interesting to note that if the U.S. government moves to completely block the app, there is a possibility that the use of a VPN (a virtual private network) could provide access to the app. Still, the government could target VPN access to make the ban effective. Officials could “ban VPN use or compel VPN companies to have a blacklist of sites that they will not permit the flow of traffic to.

The United States government has recently taken a hard stance towards Chinese-owned video App TikTok, ordering the app to be sold or risk a ban as it seeks to resolve national security concerns.

The recent demand to sell the app is a significant move in President Biden’s administration towards TikTok, which has been under scrutiny for years over concerns that China could request vital users’ data from the app.

The White House had initially been negotiating an agreement with TikTok on the need to apply safety measures to its data, to eliminate a need for the parent company ByteDance to give out vital information on the app.

Meanwhile, the demand for a sale of the app coupled with the White House’s support for legislation that would ban the app has seen President Joe Biden harden his administration’s approach towards TikTok.

TikTok however expressed dissatisfaction at the U.S. government’s decision. In defense of the app, the company claimed that its security proposal which involves storing American data in the United States offered the best protection for users without any breach of private information.

A spokesperson at TikTok said, “If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem, a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access. The best way to address concerns about national security is with the transparent, U.S based protection of U.S data and systems”.

TikTok further revealed that it has undertaken an effort to transfer all US-based data to the U.S. as part of an initiative it calls Project Texas.

Investors King understands that the U.S. government’s decision to ban TikTok began under President Trump’s administration, in which he made a decision to ban the app unless TikTok parent company Bytedance sold its stake to an American company.

A deal was reached for ByteDance to sell part of TikTok to Oracle, but reports reveal that the deal never came to fruition. Meanwhile, TikTok remains extremely popular and is used by two-thirds of teens in the U.S. Statistics reveal that the app has about 80 million monthly active users in the United States. 60% are female, and 40% are male, and 60% are between the ages of 16-24.

ByteDance Ltd., the Chinese parent company of TikTok, has been valued at $220 billion in a recent private-market investment by Abu Dhabi AI firm G42.

This valuation is significantly lower than the $300 billion that ByteDance set during a recent share buyback program.

G42, controlled by United Arab Emirates royal Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, acquired a stake of over $100 million from existing investors in recent months through its 42XFund. Investors King understands that another fund also bought into ByteDance at a valuation of $225 billion shortly after.

The gyrating price tag of ByteDance reflects the uncertainty that has set in since Washington signaled it may be open to outlawing TikTok, which lawmakers have accused of being a national security threat. TikTok’s leadership is discussing the possibility of separating from its Chinese parent to help address those concerns, although that’s a last resort.

However, ByteDance’s valuation in the G42 transaction doesn’t yet reflect the potential after-effects of the Silicon Valley Bank implosion, which raised concerns about broader systemic risks. ByteDance’s valuation has also dropped significantly from its peak of around $460 billion in 2021 when Tiger Global Management bought shares.

Sheikh Tahnoon, known as the UAE’s spymaster, has built a portfolio through G42 in everything from cloud computing to vaccines and driverless cars.

Last year, his AI firm set up the $10 billion 42XFund to invest in technology companies across emerging markets. It recently hired Jason Hu, the former investment head with China’s JD.com Inc., to expand its footprint across Asia.