Chief Executive of TikTok Chew Shou Zi is reportedly encouraging American users to join the company’s new application, Lemon8. The Chinese firm has garnered significant scrutiny from lawmakers in Beijing, with many calling for a ban. Americans are a sought-after target market for the platform, as they regularly make and publish posts on social media, especially TikTok.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has hired marketing companies to improve outreach, which have sent a message to several creators to become a part of the platform’s new launch Lemon8 before it is officially rolled out in the United States.  

Industry experts have reviewed the notes and materials linked with Lemon8, which aims to become a top social media service, citing the success of its sister company TikTok. However, the lawmakers and officials have similar concerns about both the applications. These issues have become a major battleground for US and China over economic and technological prowess.

Head of technology and geopolitics at the German Marshall Fund, Ms. Lindsay Gorman drawn parallels between the ownership structures of TikTok and Instagram which collect user data, raising security concerns among regulators. Since the new platform a child of ByteDance, the same issues with may occur with Lemon8 as well, she added.

Since almost all social media involves content, they eventually veer into the political and news spheres, which may present a challenge to the new platform, despite its innocuous appearance.

According to the e-mails sent to the creators, ByteDance is considering a marketing push to attract more customers. Lemon8 is available to download but it has not been formally launched. The platform has been hailed as a combination of Pinterest and Instagram’s branded posts focusing on more pictures and text than TikTok. ByteDance’s aim with the introduction of Lemon8 is to create an inspiring platform for users to share, discover and bring their ideas to life.

Source credit: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/tiktok-s-owner-pushes-a-new-app-while-under-washington-s-glare