When asked whether TikTok video downloads are legal from a copyright perspective, there is a clear answer: it depends. For example, until 2020, TikTok was still offering background music for which it had no user rights. In 2020, TikTok finally announced that it had signed multi-year copyright deals with international rights holders such as Universal Music Group, NMPA, and APRA AMCOS. Previously, then, TikTok users were operating in a gray area of copyright infringement, for which TikTok did not accept responsibility in its T&Cs. Due to the published deals, it can now at least be assumed that provided TikTok background music does not violate copyright.
What about downloads? In the US, according to Article 17 of the Copyright Act, it can be argued that downloading TikTok videos for private use may come under the https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html – external-link-window “Fair Use doctrine”>Fair Use doctrine. However, it is a gray area as there is no clause for private copying within the Copyright Act. In 2021 efforts were made by the U.S. government to ban the download of the TikTok app, this would have made it illegal to download the app. However, this was blocked, and the app is readily available to download.
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