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While TikTok is going back and forth with governments around the world, trying to sway them away from banning the app in their countries. TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is already spreading and growing its latest product, Lemon 8, an Instagram-like platform that is rising in the App Store charts
Lemon8
Described as “a place for young creatives to share a diversity of content”, Lemon 8 functions as a mix between Instagram and Pinterest. The app focuses more on products and highlights content from specific product categories, including fashion, makeup, food, and travel.
The Instagram-like app has been available since 2020 and was very popular in Asian countries. It is now on the rise in the US market, placing it in the top 10 for overall app downloads over the last week.
TikTok Ban
This aggressive move into the American market can be read as a possible contingency plan in the case where TikTok does get banned in the US. So far, there is no sign that Lemon 8 is going to be included in the US senate’s talks regarding the TikTok ban. Therefore, the introduction of the Instagram-like app in the US can serve as a cushion for the blow that would come in case TikTo does get banned.
However, this might result in a blowback from the US government as it could intensify fears of ByteDance’s growing influence in the country. ByteDance has been paying large sums of money to many US and UK-based influencers to create content on the app and promote it.
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