TikTok has reported that it’s reached a new usage milestone in Europe, with 200 million Europeans now logging into the app each month.
As per TikTok:
“More than 200 million people across Europe now come to TikTok every month to express themselves, be entertained, learn a new hobby or skill and find or grow a business. That's up from 175 million people last year, and approaching a third of the population of the continent across the EEA and UK.”
It’s also more than TikTok listed in its recent EU DSA disclosure report, which it published last week. As required by EU regulations, all large online platforms need to provide twice-yearly updates on their actual usage in the region, as well as how many human moderators they have on staff.
As part of its most recent update, TikTok listed having 170 million monthly EU users.
The key discrepancy here is that U.K. users are not listed in its official DSA numbers, as the U.K. is not part of the EU. TikTok reported having 30 million users in the U.K. back in June, so in combination, it’s now surpassed 200 million users in the EU region.
Which is likely now more significant than ever, considering that TikTok is still facing a possible ban in the U.S. America remains TikTok’s biggest single market, with 170 million U.S. users, while it’s also its key revenue source, providing a significant amount of the app’s income.
It’s also where TikTok sees the most shopping activity, which is its main focus for expanding its revenue potential, and as such, losing the U.S., if that was to happen, would be a major blow for the app.
But TikTok does still have hundreds of millions of users in other regions as well, and with take-up of its in-stream shopping options gradually rising, it is building an expanded foundation to weather that impact, if needed.
Indeed, TikTok has even alluded to such in its update:
“There are now millions of businesses on TikTok across Europe. From sole traders to global brands, TikTok's unique recommender system helps businesses reach new customers they could not find another way, without needing a huge following. Experts at Oxford Economics found that the activities of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) on TikTok added €4.8 billion to the economies of Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and Belgium and supported more than 51,000 jobs.”
There’s no doubt that TikTok is having a significant impact, in many ways, though it remains problematic, due its Chinese government ties, and could still face restrictions in some markets.
But right now, it’s building its EU foundation, which should bode well for its future in the region.
