TikTok
Trump to Ban TikTok in the US
Donald Trump intends to ban TikTok in the US as soon as Saturday. Speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday night, Trump announced he would use emergency economic powers or an executive order to enforce the ban. Trump also said he is against the idea of a US-based company acquiring the Chinese-owned TikTok. Earlier on Friday, it was revealed that Microsoft had entered into negotiations to purchase the popular video sharing app. TikTok is estimated to have upwards of 65 million active users in the US and consistently ranks as among the most downloaded apps on Apple’s App Store. However, US government officials have expressed concerns over the amount of data collected by TikTok compared to other prominent social media platforms, especially given that TikTok is owned by...
Microsoft in Talks to Purchase TikTok
Amid threats that TikTok could soon be banned in the US because of its Chinese ownership, Microsoft has entered into negotiations to purchase the popular video sharing platform, according to the New York Times. Earlier this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indiciated that the Trump Administration was considering banning TikTok, citing security and privacy concerns. On Friday, Trump himself confirmed as much, telling reporters that “We’re looking at TikTok, we may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things. There’s a couple of options. But a lot of things are happening, so we’ll see what happens. But we are looking at a lot of alternatives with respect to TikTok.” One possible option under consideration, according to Bloomberg, is to force TikTok to sell off its US opera...
Egypt female social media influencers get two-year jail terms
An Egyptian court Monday sentenced five female social media influencers to two years in jail each on charges of violating public morals, a judicial source said. The verdict against Haneen Hossam, Mowada al-Adham and three others came after they had posted footage on video-sharing app TikTok. “The Cairo economic court sentenced Hossam, Adham and three others to two years after they were convicted of violating society’s values,” the judicial source said. The ruling, which can be appealed, included a fine of 300,000 Egyptian pounds ($18,750) for each defendant, the source noted. SOCIAL DIVIDE Hossam was arrested in April after posting a three-minute clip telling her 1.3 million followers that girls could make money by working with her. In May, authorities arrested Adham who had posted satiric...
TikTok Establishes $200M Fund to Pay Creators
“TikTok has grown to become a source of income and opportunity for creators and their families — and we couldn’t be more encouraged by their success.” Over the past two years, short-form video app TikTok has become a gold mine for talent: Popular creators like Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae have turned their accounts into full-blown careers, signing with Hollywood’s biggest agencies and raking in money from record labels to promote songs. Now, TikTok is helping more creators make money on the platform with the introduction of its $200 million Creator Fund, which will “encourage those who dream of using their voices and creativity to spark inspirational careers,” TikTok U.S. general manager Vanessa Pappas wrote in a company blog pos...
US Companies Urge Employees to Delete TikTok
Sourced from Cosmico Wells Fargo has urged employees to uninstall the popular Chinese video-sharing app, TikTok, from their company devices over privacy concerns. “We have identified a small number of Wells Fargo employees with corporate-owned devices who had installed the TikTok application on their device,” says a Wells Fargo spokesperson. “Due to concerns about TikTok’s privacy and security controls and practices, and because corporate-owned devices should be used for company business only, we have directed those employees to remove the app from their devices.” This comes a few days after Amazon sent a company-wide email asking employees to delete the app – however, it quickly cleared the air and formally announced that there was “no change to our policies right now with regard to TikTo...
TikTok Glitch Makes Views and Likes Disappear
Sourced from Gadgets 360. Popular video-sharing platform, TikTok has confirmed that some users have experienced a glitch where their account page, following feeds and For You Page all displayed zero likes and views. Hi TikTok community! We’re aware that some users are experiencing app issues – working to quickly fix things, and we’ll share updates here! — TikTokSupport (@TikTokSupport) July 9, 2020 “Some of our users experienced app issues around notifications, the display of likes and view counts, and trouble loading videos on some pages of the app,” says the Chinese app in a statement to The Verge. “The issues appear to have been caused by higher traffic than normal on our servers, causing temporary service disruptions. We’ve resolved the problem and are investigating the cau...
U.S. ‘Looking At’ TikTok Ban Says Sec. of State Mike Pompeo
Sec. of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. would “certainly look at” banning Chinese social media apps including short-form video app TikTok over national security and privacy concerns. “With respect to Chinese apps on people’s cell phones, I can assure you the United States will get this one right too,” Pompeo said in an interview on Monday’s episode of Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle. “I don’t want to get out in front of the president, but it’s something we’re looking at.” Pompeo added that people should only download TikTok “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.” The news comes as TikTok increasingly looks to distance itself from its parent company Beijing-based...
Trump Administration Considering Banning TikTok in the US
TikTok’s days in the US could be numbered, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. In an interview with Fox News, Pompeo said the Trump Administration is considering banning the popular Chinese social media app due to security and privacy concerns. “I don’t want to get out in front of the President, but it’s something we’re looking at,” Pompeo told Fox News on Monday night. He added that Americans should only download the app “if you want your private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party.” The video sharing platform is estimated to have upwards of 65 million active users in the US and consistently ranks as among the most downloaded apps on Apple’s App Store. However, US government officials have expressed concern over the amount of data collected by TikTok comp...
India Bans TikTok and Other Chinese Apps Amid Border Tensions
Sourced from Gadgets 360. Popular Chinese video and music app TikTok has been banned in India, along with 58 other apps – most of which are Chinese. This comes as tensions between the two countries continue to rise. Developed by Chinese company Bytedance, TikTok allows users to share short videos usually set to music. The app and its developers have long denied allegations of being involved in any way with the Chinese government, going as far as to say that its data centres are kept outside of China and therefore is not under the sovereignty of Chinese law. India’s Reaction The Indian government has seen fit to block the app from Indian phones, as well as 58 others. Amongst them Alibaba’s UC Browser and Tencent’s WeChat which is also alleged to be working with the government of China. Even...
MTN Pulse Introduces New Data Bundles for Social Media
Sourced from Business Tech MTN Pulse has announced the launch of the new MTN Pulse Daily, Weekly and Monthly Social Pass bundles, effective immediately until 16 July 2020, which sees the introduction of 1GB valid for a day for R25. The new MTN Pulse Social Pass bundles are an extension to the existing Social bundles. The network provider says that these bundles give customers on MTN Pulse access to Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and YouTube, all in one bundle. “Social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter are essential for our youth customers to remain connected. Through these attractively priced bundles, MTN is connecting its youth customers with the services that resonate with them by ensuring that they can use their favourite online pla...
TikTok Set for Explosive Growth in South Africa, says Expert
Sourced from Cosmico South Africa’s largest annual study of social media trends has revealed that Facebook remains the social platform of choice for marketing – but TikTok is rising fast among both brands and consumers. According to the 2020 edition of the SA Social Media Landscape, released this week by World Wide Worx and Ornico, almost a third of major brands intend to become active on TikTok, which is also the fastest growing social media platform among consumers. Fewer than 20% of brands have used it in the past year, but none believe they are doing so very effectively. These numbers are likely to change significantly during 2020. It is estimated that around 6-million South Africans are already using the platform. Nine out of ten major brands – just more than 89% – indicated they were...
TikTok Promises to Promote Black Creators After Censorship Accusations Make Light
Sourced from Gadgets 360. Chinese Social Media platform TikTok laid out a series of actions on Monday in an effort to address criticisms that its algorithm is suppressing black creators on the app. The actions include launching a “creator diversity council” in which the platform will aim at “recognising and uplifting the voices driving culture, creativity, and important conversations on the platform [itself]”. Continued in the blog post, TikTok says it will also reassess its moderation strategies, establish a new “user-friendly” appeals process, and develop a new creator portal for expanding communications and “opportunities for our broader creator community”. TikTok says that it will “stand in solidarity with the Black community” and participate in “Black Out Tuesday.” Tuesday will be kep...
