Choreographer Sahil Kumar found fame showcasing folk dances on TikTok, but his profile has been dormant since the video he posted four years ago supporting India's decision to ban the platform.
India's decision to TicTok foreshadows what the social media landscape could look like in the United States next year. Photo: Jalees ANDRABI / AFPCelebrate Youth Month with Briefly News! Nominate a young entrepreneur under 35 with an inspiring story to be our 7th 'Young Money Maker'. Let's shine a light on their achievements together!, but his profile has been dormant since the video he posted four years ago supporting India's decision to ban the platform.
"It is difficult to recreate the success elsewhere, because I haven't got the same engagement on any other platform," Kumar, 30, told AFP from his studio in Rohtak, a short drive south of the capital New Delhi.India banned TikTok during a wave of nationalist fervour that followed a border clash between Chinese and Indian troops.
The official government order mandating the removal made no reference to the incident or even China, only saying that TikTok had engaged in activities that were"prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India". Four years later, just under 94,000 people follow him on Instagram -- a tiny fraction of his earlier audience -- and he laments that his chances to make money have dried up.
In the first year after the ban, Instagram saw about six million short videos from India posted each day to Reels, its own interface attempting to match TikTok's content model.In the first year after the ban, Instagram saw about six million short videos from India posted each day to Reels. Photo: Chris DELMAS / AFPThat compared to 2.5 million videos posted each day to Indian video sharing platform Moj, according to local media reports.
"When TikTok was banned, we were all expecting that there will probably be some other app which will come and take over," Amiya Swarup of professional services firm EY India told AFP.
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