Instagram announced last week that it will launch a Tik-Tok-esque video-music remix feature called Instagram Reels. The initial tests for Reels will be limited to Brazil where TikTok has relatively weak adoption. This after Facebook launched a similar TikTok competitor called Lasso in early November.

TikTok, the Gen-Z dominated social video app, just surpassed 1.5 billion downloads.  It is currently the third most downloaded non-gaming app behind WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Trailing TikTok in fourth and fifth place are Facebook and Instagram respectively.

This makes TikTok the only app in the Top 5 that is not owned by Facebook and places the blooming social media app squarely in Mark Zuckerberg’s crosshairs.  
The good news for Facebook is that the U.S. government is on their side for a change. TikTok’s parent company, a Chinese social media company named ByteDance, is facing increasing attacks from U.S. lawmakers about how it shares data with the Chinese government. TikTok to Zuck: “You’re welcome.”