TikTok reveals Europe user numbers, ByteDance 'rejects Microsoft bid'

TikTok reveals Europe user numbers, ByteDance 'rejects Microsoft bid'

TikTok has gone public with its European user numbers for the first time.

The short form video app has reported 100 million monthly active users Europe. That compares to 102m monthly active users for Spotify in the Europe region in Q2.

TikTok were Music Week’s cover stars earlier this month.

“Against the backdrop of the extraordinary times we're all living through, it's also been a pretty extraordinary year for our business,” said Rich Waterworth, GM, Europe.

“We've been humbled to see how Europe has embraced TikTok during the time we've been here. Today, more than 100m people across the region are active on TikTok every month. TikTok is a home for positive, creative expression - and from beauty, comedy and education, to magic, music and sport, we offer a brand of joyful entertainment that's authentic, relatable, and truly diverse.”

TikTok recently reported 100m monthly active users in the US. 

The figures have been issued as TikTok parent ByteDance has rejected an offer from Microsoft for its US assets. According to CNBC, ByteDance has chose Oracle to be TikTok’s US technology partner. Oracle will take a significant stake in the business.

President Trump has imposed a September 20 deadline for ByteDance to announce a plan for a sale in the US, or be banned by the end of the month. A deal would have to be done by November 12.

Microsoft said in a blog post: “ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft. We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests. To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combatting disinformation, and we made these principles clear in our August statement. We look forward to seeing how the service evolves in these important areas.”

ByteDance declined to comment.

TikTok has also launched a creator fund for Europe, an investment of  €250m over the next three years to help creators. In the last two weeks, over 40% of all eligible creators have enrolled.

TikTok stressed that it has a “localised approach” that is reflected in local trends and content, such as the #DontRushChallenge for Young T & Bugsey, which has 800m-plus views.

The company now has 1,600 employees in Europe, including around 1,300 in the UK and Ireland. Staff are working across a wide range of areas including brand and creator engagement, commercialisation, music, product, privacy, policy and safety. 

author twitter FOLLOW Andre Paine


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