It seems we’re about to see a shake up in the TikTok world.
Members of the Sway House have seen their fair share of controversy over the last few weeks and it doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon. According to the Los Angeles Times Josh Richards, (who officially left the Sway House in May) has announced his departure from TikTok, allegedly over growing security and data management concerns. Sway House members Noah Beck and Griffin Johnson have also shared their intention to join Triller and scale back the frequency of posts on TikTok, in an effort to gradually migrate to the new app.
“After seeing the U.S. and other countries’ governments’ concerns over TikTok — and given my responsibility to protect and lead my followers and other influencers — I followed my instincts as an entrepreneur and made it my mission to find a solution,” Josh told the LA Times.
In the move away from TikTok, Josh has announced his role as the new Chief Strategy Officer at Triller, a music-based video app, backed by investment from Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne, that will sit in direct competition with TikTok. Sway members, Noah Beck, and Griffin Johnson are said to have officially signed as Triller advisors and are all equity shareholders.
Triller’s website currently boasts 120 million app downloads (in comparison to TikTok’s 2.2 billion), “flawless editing in seconds,” and over 100 video filters, however some are sceptical the influencers’ audience and fanbase will translate from TikTok.
New York Times technology reporter, Taylor Lorenz commented “Triller in raising money right now, stoking anti-Chinese/anti-TikTok sentiment to try and position themselves as a competitor. So strange to watch these social media apps posture about data privacy, which is something none of them have shown to [prioritise].”
Time will tell the future of TikTok. After rumours of the app being banned in Australia and U.S. began circulating and the recent announcement of TikTok planning to offer monetisation for it’s creators, it is making major moves to continue to support and grow its audience. Whether the Sway House’s audience will transfer is another question entirely.
Want to know more about the potential TikTok ban? Listen below as we deep dive on the major TikTok concerns, what will happen if the app is actually banned and the alternatives…