Tag Archives: TikTok

Appeals Court Upholds TikTok “Divest Or Ban” Law

CBS News reports: A federal appeals court upheld a law that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company to divest or face a ban in the U.S., dealing another setback to the widely popular video-sharing app in its battle with the federal government. A panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sided …

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Conway Lies About Republican Efforts To Ban TikTok

“He [Trump] appreciates the breadth and reach of TikTok, which he used masterfully along with podcasts and new media entrants to win. There are many ways to hold China to account outside alienating 180 million U.S. users each month. Trump recognized early on that Democrats are the party of bans — gas-powered cars, menthol cigarettes, vapes, plastic straws and TikTok …

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13 States Sue TikTok As Harmful To Underage Users

Reuters reports: TikTok faces new lawsuits filed by 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia on Tuesday, accusing the popular social media platform of harming and failing to protect young people. The lawsuits filed separately in New York, California, the District of Columbia and 11 other states, expand Chinese-owned TikTok’s legal fight with U.S. regulators, and seek new financial …

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Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues TikTok Over “Child Safety”

Austin’s NBC affiliate reports: On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he had filed a lawsuit against the social media company TikTok. The lawsuit claimed the platform was operating “in a manner that puts the online safety and privacy of Texas children at risk and violates the Securing Children Online through Parental Empowerment (SCOPE) Act.” Paxton’s lawsuit seeks civil …

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DNC To Stream On Vertical Apps To Reach Young Voters

Axios reports: Democrats will stream their convention next week on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, committee staffers told Axios. The party hopes making the stream available via vertical video apps will draw in younger viewers who get most of their news on their phones. Roughly one-third of Americans ages 18 to 29 say they get news regularly on TikTok, which only …

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Harris Camp Launches Official TikTok Account [VIDEO]

CNBC reports: Vice President Kamala Harris debuted an official TikTok account on Thursday, underscoring the social broadcasting app’s importance to the 2024 presidential campaign as a way to reach voters. In her first short TikTok video, Harris described why she joined the popular app, saying that she’s “heard that recently I’ve been on the For You Page, so I thought …

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Rubio: TikTok Is A “Propaganda Tool For Pro-Hamas”

Florida Politics reports: Just days after the Trump campaign promoted its new account on TikTok, Rubio went back on the attack against the Chinese-connected social media platform. “Further evidence TikTok is a propaganda tool for pro-Hamas groups,” Rubio harrumphed on his official account on X, responding to a news article with the lurid headline, “TikTok Executives To Speak at Conference …

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Utah Sues TikTok For Allowing “Virtual Strip Clubs”

Salt Lake City’s ABC affiliate reports: The State of Utah is accusing TikTok of allowing “virtual strip clubs” on its platform, leading to the sexual exploitation of minors, according to a new lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed on Monday by the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, accuses TikTok’s live-streaming feature called TikTok LIVE of letting adults give virtual currency to young …

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TikTok Readies US Version That May Placate Critics

Reuters reports: TikTok is working on a clone of its recommendation algorithm for its 170 million U.S. users that may result in a version that operates independently of its Chinese parent and be more palatable to American lawmakers who want to ban it, according to sources with direct knowledge of the efforts. The work on splitting the source code ordered …

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TikTok Restricts Accounts Of State-Affiliated Media

The Hill reports: TikTok is restricting state-affiliated media accounts, broadening the platform’s efforts to foster “authenticity” and limit their influence heading into elections later this year. The social media platform announced Thursday that accounts “that attempt to reach communities outside their home country on current global events and affairs” will not pop up in the personalized feeds of users. TikTok …

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Mnuchin Says He’s Still Interested In Buying TikTok

Bloomberg News reports: Steven Mnuchin, the former US Treasury Secretary, said he’s still interested in buying TikTok’s US operation from its Chinese owner, and believes the social media app’s critical video recommendation technology could be replicated. “I’ve actually spoken to a lot of tech companies on working about rebuilding this,” Mnuchin said Tuesday in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “I …

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TikTok Sues To Challenge New Law Mandating Its Sale

The Wall Street Journal reports: TikTok said it filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging the constitutionality of a new law that requires a sale or ban of the popular social-media app, setting up a court showdown over national security and free speech in the age of global information wars. The suit, filed directly with a federal appeals court in Washington, …

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TikTok CEO Vows To Fight Potential Ban In Court

NBC News reports: TikTok CEO Shou Chew said Wednesday that the company would go to court to try to remain online in the United States. In a video posted on the app, Chew denounced a potential ban signed into law by President Joe Biden. The law has a built-in delay of nine months, giving TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, a …

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Biden Gets Bill Ordering TikTok To Find New Owner

The Verge reports: A bill that would force China-based company ByteDance to sell TikTok — or else face a US ban of the platform — is all but certain to become law after the Senate passed a foreign aid package including the measure. It now heads to President Joe Biden, who already committed to signing the TikTok legislation. Once signed …

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Today: Senate Votes On Advancing Foreign Aid Bills

NBC News reports: The Senate is poised to vote Tuesday to advance the $95 billion aid package to provide critical aid to Ukraine and a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok. The package, which passed the House on Saturday, includes $60 billion in aid to Ukraine that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would give his country “a …

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House Advances Potential TikTok Ban In 360-58 Vote

The Insider reports: The House advanced legislation on Saturday that could lead to a TikTok ban in the United States. The bill forces TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, to secure American ownership in about a year or face a domestic ban. Earlier versions of the legislation gave ByteDance just six months to find a new owner. To fast-track the bipartisan legislation, …

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TikTok Launches Ad In Swing States To Battle Ban

CNBC reports: TikTok has launched a $2.1 million advertising campaign with a clear message for senators in tough reelection fights this year: Block the House bill that could effectively ban the app in the United States. “Think about the 5 million small business owners that rely on TikTok to provide for their families,” one purported TikTok user says in the …

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GOP TikTok Mogul Also Tied To Truth Social Merger

The New York Times reports: Jeff Yass, the billionaire Wall Street financier and Republican megadonor who is a major investor in the parent company of TikTok, was also the biggest institutional shareholder of the shell company that recently merged with former President Donald J. Trump’s social media company. A December regulatory filing showed that Mr. Yass’s trading firm, Susquehanna International …

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Lawmakers Receive Threats Over Proposed TikTok Ban

The Washington Post reports: As Congress considers legislation that could ban TikTok in the United States, lawmakers are receiving a surge of threatening messages connected to popular video app. U.S. Capitol Police are investigating an “uptick” in reports of “threats and concerning messages” linked to the TikTok discussions, according to a law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of …

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Mnuchin: “I’m Putting Together A Group To Buy TikTok”

CNBC reports: Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is building an investor group to acquire ByteDance’s TikTok, as a bipartisan piece of legislation winding its way through Congress threatens its continued existence in the U.S. “I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Thursday. “It’s a great business and I’m …

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