US TikTok ban could echo India chaos as users seek options

TikTok fans in the U.S. are racing to secure alternatives and safeguard their digital empires ahead of a looming shutdown on Sunday, evoking the chaos of India's 2020 ban that erased the app from the lives of 200 million users overnight. While the U.S. ban has been debated for months, India acted swiftly in June 2020 to block TikTok and nearly 60 other Chinese apps over national security concerns, stripping many creators of their main source of income and shattering a digital community. The disruption forced content creators to rebuild their followings and businesses on new homegrown apps and established platforms such as Meta-owned Instagram, which emerged as a big winner of the ban.