Is there any evidence that TikTok's popularity is due to their non-compliance with regulations, and not just being a novelty and them having lots of money to bankroll such a service without annoying the users with ads like FB does?
On the first-order basis, it might be difficult to pinpoint why Facebook "wasn't allowed" to build this product before anyone else.
On the second-order basis, there is an interesting comparison between how well Facebook hindered Snapchat's growth with their rollout of Stories, vs how well it hindered Tiktok's growth with their rollout of Reels (not very). There are obviously a million factors to consider, but I would argue that us taking Facebook through the dirt 1) weakened its hold over its users and 2) triggered a talent exodus, both of which contributed to Facebook's Reels not being as impactful as Stories (viewed strictly through the lens of defending against the new competitor).
