The massive EU fine against TikTok on Friday marks the latest setback for the popular Chinese-owned social media platform, which has more than one billion users.

Here is a closer look at TikTok:

TikTok's surge from niche video app to global powerhouse is one of the most significant shifts in digital entertainment since the advent of social media.

From teenage dancers to grandmothers sharing cooking tips, TikTok can transform ordinary users into global celebrities virtually overnight, revolutionizing the traditional path to stardom.

Originally launched in 2016 by Chinese tech company ByteDance as Douyin for the Chinese market, the international version TikTok was released in 2017.

It gained massive momentum after merging with Musical.ly, a lip-synching app, a year later.

The secret sauce to the app's rapid expansion was its innovative recommendation algorithm.

Unlike other platforms that primarily showed content from accounts users already follow, TikTok's "For You" page served content based on viewing habits, engagement patterns and sophisticated content analysis.

A video from a complete unknown can reach millions if the algorithm........

© International Business Times