A report by Forbes revealed that TikTok stars worldwide earn huge sums of money from making short videos on the platform launched in 2018. A man uses his phone to record a video. Who is the highest-earning TikToker? Which countries banned TikTok? 1. Afghanistan 2. Australia 3. Belgium 4. Canada 5. China 6. Denmark 7. France 8. India 9. United Kingdom (UK) 10. Somalia Other countries + View more According to Business of Apps, over 4.3 billion downloads were recorded in 2023 by Byte Dance, the Chinese company that owns it. Who is the highest-earning TikToker? Content creator Charlie D’ Amelio was ranked the highest-paid TikTok user in 2023, with estimated earnings of $23 million (KSh 3.05 billion). Statista revealed the revenue was from advertising, sponsored material, and event appearances. However, despite TikTok being a major source of income for content creators, some countries have banned it. Which countries banned TikTok? AP News reported that TikTok is prohibited from being used on government-issued devices in several countries, especially nations where officials are concerned about privacy and cybersecurity issues. 1. Afghanistan The country’s Taliban leadership voted to prohibit access to TikTok and the video game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) in 2022, citing the need to prevent youth from “being misled.” 2. Australia TikTok is banned on gadgets provided by the Australian federal government. The country’s Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus, said he decided following consultation with the nation’s security and intelligence organisations. 3. Belgium In March, Belgium’s National Security Council permanently prohibited TikTok from being used on any federally funded or owned devices. A temporary ban was imposed on the previous year due to misinformation, cybersecurity, and privacy concerns. According to Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, it was based on alerts from the nation’s cybersecurity centre and state security agency. 4. Canada Using TikTok on devices given by the federal government is prohibited in Canada. The North American country cited an “unacceptable” risk to security and privacy. Officials said that the app would be deleted from smartphones and that downloading it would be illegal for employees. 5. China TikTok chief executive officer (CEO) Shou Chew revealed in a testimony to US Congress that TikTok has never been accessible in mainland China. Chinese consumers, instead, use Douyin, a comparable video-sharing app that complies with Beijing’s stringent censorship regulations. Following the implementation of a comprehensive national security statute in China, TikTok also stopped operating in Hong Kong. 6. Denmark The Danish Defense Ministry forbade its workers from using TikTok on their work phones and instructed those who had loaded the app to uninstall it. The ministry stated a “minimal work-related need to use the app” and “weighty security considerations” as the basis for the prohibition. 7. France In France, government personnel are not allowed to use TikTok or other social media apps on their phones for recreational purposes. This is due to concerns about inadequate data security procedures. 8. India In 2020, because of privacy and security concerns, TikTok and numerous other Chinese apps, including the messaging app WeChat, were banned nationally in India. The embargo was imposed soon after a skirmish between Chinese and Indian forces near a disputed boundary in the Himalayas left 20 Indian soldiers dead and numerous others injured. TikTok was permanently banned in 2021. 9. United Kingdom (UK) British authorities prohibited TikTok from being accessed on government ministers’ and civil staff’s phones. Officials stated that the prohibition did not extend to personal devices and was a “precautionary move” for security reasons. The British Parliament removed the app from all government devices and parliamentary networks. 10. Somalia The Somali government ordered telecom providers to restrict access to TikTok, 1XBET, and the messaging app Telegram. Authorities expressed fear that the platforms would disseminate extremist content, pictures of naked people, and other materials deemed disrespectful to Islam and Somali culture. Other countries Apart from the above 10 countries, TikTok is restricted in some states in the United States (US), Taiwan, Pakistan, Norway, New Zealand, Netherlands, Nepal, Latvia, Indonesia and the European Union (EU).