What Does the Future of TikTok Mean For Its Sister App Lemon8?
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On March 13, 2024, the United States House of Representatives passed a bill moving to remove TikTok from the American app store unless the current owners, ByteDance, can find a domestic company to sell the platform to. The bill has made its way to the United States Senate where it is expected to wait to receive floor time (CBS News: TikTok bill that could lead to ban faces uphill climb in the Senate). The goal of the controversial bill is to stop ByteDance, a Chinese-based company, from harvesting the personal data of roughly 170 million Americans. (CNN: House passes bill that could ban TikTok despite resistance from Trump)
Since its creation in 2016 and international launch in 2017, TikTok has become a social media giant estimated to be worth over 400 billion U.S. dollars and has reached over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. TikTok is known for its powerful algorithm that tailors content to users' specific interests by using industry-leading Artificial Intelligence programs rivaled only by Amazon, Instagram, and YouTube. TikTok is also home to several niche micro-communities thanks to the algorithm allowing people to make strong connections and even start successful small businesses.
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Following the success of TikTok, ByteDance launched another social media platform exclusively in Japan. in May 2020. The app, called Lemon8, was then launched internationally in March 2023. The app had a slower rise in popularity than its predecessor but currently has 4.1 million users in the United States alone. In a statement issued by ByteDance in April 2023, the company said that they were going to, “Do their best with the Lemon8 app to comply with U.S law to make sure that they do the right thing” but added, “We’ve got a long way to go with that application, it’s pretty much a startup.” (AP News: TikTok's parent has a new app: What to know about Lemon8).
Lemon8 marks a new venture for ByteDance that is quite a departure from TikTok. Lemon8 has no video content or integrated shopping features, and the app’s audience is mostly young women and girls. Users of the platform have been vocal about wanting the app to remain a judgment-free zone free of influencer and brand-sponsored content. The app has been described as a “breath of fresh air” in a market of social media channels that thrive on engagement, followers, and reach. However, small influencers have found ways to push products on the platform by posing sponsored “hauls” or posting products from their small businesses. On the surface, it seems that there is no common thread that links Lemon8 and TikTok, but deeper research reveals that they use the same highly intelligent algorithm to suggest new content to users.
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When asked about Lemon8 by The New York Times, Lindsay Gorman, head of technology and geopolitics at the German Marshall Fund and former tech advisor for the Biden administration, noted that even though the app is in the early stages of development, the fact that it is owned by ByteDance means that the algorithm could turn dark. Gorman says “Ultimately, with social media platforms in particular, they involve content, and eventually, that’s always going to lead to political content and news content.” (The New York Times: TikTok's Owner Pushes a New App, While Under Washington's Glare).
However, industry professionals feel optimistic about the app due to its small size and unique audience saying that because ByteDance has a positive reputation among Millennials and Generation Z, creators and members of the target audience will “give the platform a chance.”
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As for the future of Lemon8, I believe that it won’t be going anywhere until the TikTok ban has run its course; it seems that lawmakers are hyper-fixated on TikTok and not other ByteDance apps such as Lemon8 and CapCut. As long as the future of TikTok remains unclear, Lemon8 will likely remain available as it hasn’t attracted the attention of policymakers to the same extent that TikTok has.
Mary Corbin