443The relationship between Tuke and the United States can be summed up in two words: "complicated".
Since Tuke launched in the US, criticism has never ceased, with the US government and politicians frequently attacking it.
For Tuke, "banning" seems to have become a common occurrence.
Not long ago, the state of Montana announced a comprehensive ban on Tuke, planning to prohibit its use statewide starting January 1, 2024. This ban made Montana the first state in the US to completely ban Tuke.
However, according to reports from Reuters, NPR, and other media, on November 30, a district judge in Montana, USA, Donald Molloy made a preliminary ruling to prevent the statewide ban on the short video social platform Tuke from taking effect.
He stated that Montana's ban on Tuke "exceeds state authority and infringes on users' constitutional rights."
Montana Governor Greg Gianforte signed the state's bill banning Tuke, making it law. Associated Press
Why is Tuke frequently banned?
In fact, it can be summed up in one sentence: Tuke threatens America's interests!
Tuke's development in the US seems almost "cheating".
Shortly after its launch, Tuke took the top spot for downloads in the US in October (October 2018). Its downloads that month directly surpassed Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, making these well-known social media platforms mere background!
Currently, Tuke's monthly active users in the US have reached nearly 130 million, while the total US population is only about 330 million. This means that out of every 5 Americans, 2 have used Tuke this month!
What troubles the US is that Tuke has taken a large number of young users from other platforms. And young users are precisely the main force of consumption.
A survey shows that among American respondents aged 18 to 29, nearly half said they plan to buy holiday gifts on social media platforms like Tuke. As of November, the popular Tuke hashtag #Tukemademebuyit has been viewed more than 79.9 billion times.
Meanwhile, the latest data for Tuke's total US sales in October has just been released. Tuke did not disappoint its e-commerce potential, raking in $200 million! Compared to September's $140 million in sales, that's a 43% increase!
Seeing this, it's not hard to understand why the US has been committed to a comprehensive ban on Tuke.
Timeline of Tuke bans in the US
How much does the US "dislike" Tuke? Let's look at a series of events.
On July 20, 2020, the US House of Representatives passed a bill by a vote of 336 to 71, prohibiting federal employees from downloading Tuke on government devices.
On August 7, 2020, President Trump issued an executive order banning US residents from doing any business with Tuke and its parent company 45 days later.
On September 18, 2020, the US Department of Commerce planned to issue an order to prohibit Americans from downloading the Chinese short video app Tuke (international version of Douyin) starting September 20.
In December 2022, seven US states successively announced bans on Tuke on government devices.
On December 15, 2022, the US Senate voted to pass a bill prohibiting federal government personnel from using Tuke on government-issued devices.
On February 28, 2023, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted on a bill that would give President Biden the power to ban Tuke on all US devices.
On May 17, 2023, Montana signed a bill banning the short video social media platform Tuke (international version of Douyin) from operating in the state.
On August 16, 2023, New York City banned the use of Tuke on government devices, citing so-called "security concerns".
So some may ask:With such a tough stance against Tuke, why is Tuke still so popular in the US? Why has it become a hit app?
Perhaps the answer lies in the overwhelming public demand.
We won't discuss sensitive national political issues here, let's just talk about Tuke's audience.
Most Tuke users are young people, which is a force that cannot be ignored. If forced measures are taken to ban Tuke, it will inevitably trigger strong opposition and protests from American youth who have long been accustomed to using Tuke for socializing.
Moreover, many of the merchants on Tuke Shop US are local businesses. If banned, it would have a huge impact on these local merchants, leading to another round of protests.
Additionally, just as there are states and officials in the US who support banning Tuke, there are also those who oppose it. Therefore, whether in the US or other countries, a complete and comprehensive ban on Tuke is actually very difficult to achieve.
Source: Associated Press
Take Indonesia as an example. Some time ago, Indonesia announced a ban on Tuke Shop, but later chose to lift the ban, meaning Tuke can operate e-commerce business in Indonesia as usual.
In fact, as early as July 3, 2018, Tuke was banned in Indonesia.
Therefore, judging from past events, Tuke will continue to face various bans from different countries in the future, but most are likely to be short-term. A long-term or permanent comprehensive ban is unlikely.
