Last week, the criticized Hong Kong Security Act came into force, which many analysts believe marks the beginning of the end for Hong Kong's autonomy from China.

On Monday, social media giants Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp announced that they will not disclose user information from their platforms to Hong Kong authorities, as there is uncertainty about how the new Security Act will be applied. Facebook says in a statement that it is for dialogue with human rights experts on how to act.

Now the dance video app Tiktok also announces that it will leave the market in Hong Kong with reference to "recent events", according to Reuters.

Available special version for China

Tiktok, which was the most downloaded app last year and has over a billion users, is based in China and has been accused of sharing user information from the app with the Chinese regime. However, this is something that the company itself denies.

Bytedance, which is behind Tiktok, already has a special version of the app in China with another name adapted to Chinese censorship requirements. The app has not yet been introduced in Hong Kong, but is still widely used in the region by mainland Chinese visitors.

Hong Kong is today a loss market for Tiktok with "only" about 150,000 users, according to a source told Reuters. Tiktok is more adapted to the global market, where China is not given access to, for example, user information, and Bytedance is now uncertain whether Chinese laws will soon apply to Hong Kong, according to the source.

USA: Looking at the possibility of banning Tiktok

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the US government is looking into the possibility of banning Chinese social media apps, including Tiktok, according to Reuters. Last week, Tiktok and several other social media apps from China were banned in India, citing the risk of espionage.