Many believe that Reels is Instagram’s answer to TikTok. India banned TikTok earlier this summer, & then Instagram released Reels in India a few days later. America is experiencing a similar situation. The United States government is putting pressure on TikTok to sell ownership of its company to an American company. If TikTok does not sell, the United States government has stated it will ban TikTok. The Washington Post lists India, the United States, Australia, the European Union, Japan, Turkey, Indonesia & Pakistan as countries that are either suspicious of, are actively investigating or have already banned TikTok.

Facebook, the parent company of Instagram, decided that this is the time to strike. Facebook stated that Reels would be available in the United States “in early August.”