Though TikTok has become a craze among some younger Americans over the past year, recent headlines over a US government investigation into the platform’s Chinese parent company ByteDance regarding national security concerns have some marketers worrying.

TikTok, the Chinese short-video app, is taking off in the US, India and elsewhere. It offers many unique marketing opportunities, such as the Hashtag Challenge, but marketers should take note of some risks.

This report covers key events in the global social media market, new data, trends and business activity in Q2 2019. It also includes our updated forecasts for social network users in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and worldwide.

Adults in China spend more time on digital than they do with any other media. Moreover, time spent on digital will continue to grow at a rapid pace, encroaching on time spent with traditional media.

Despite a faltering economy and subdued growth across traditional media, total media ad spend in China will maintain strong growth on the back of increases in digital and mobile, where the top digital publishers will maintain their dominance.

No social app since Snapchat has succeeded in capturing significant usage in the US. But the Chinese-owned, short-video app TikTok is enjoying sudden growth in popularity. Can it buck the trend and challenge the existing social networks?