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TikTok

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Updated On: 18 Apr 2024 | 4:23 PM IST

"TikTok should have known better. TikTok should have done better," UK Information Commissioner said

Updated On: 07 Apr 2023 | 9:01 AM IST

Britain's privacy watchdog hit TikTok with a multimillion-dollar penalty on Tuesday for a slew of data protection breaches, including misusing children's data. The Information Commissioner's Office said it issued a fine of 12.7 million pounds (USD 15.9 million) to the short-video sharing app, which is wildly popular with young people. It's the latest example of tighter scrutiny that TikTok and its parent, Chinese technology company ByteDance, are facing in the West, where governments are increasingly concerned about risks that the app poses to data privacy and cybersecurity. The British watchdog said TikTok allowed as many as 1.4 million children in the UK under 13 to use the app in 2020, despite the platform's own rules prohibiting children that young from setting up accounts. TikTok didn't adequately identify and remove children under 13 from the platform, the watchdog said. And even though it knew younger children were using its platform, TikTok failed to get consent from their

Updated On: 04 Apr 2023 | 5:31 PM IST

Australia's federal government will ban video-sharing application TikTok on govt devices over fears that the application's security could be compromised

Updated On: 04 Apr 2023 | 9:00 AM IST

That pace of expansion underscores the resilience of ByteDance's business at a time Washington is threatening to join India in banning TikTok

Updated On: 03 Apr 2023 | 3:53 PM IST

Under pressure from the US government, TikTok is now facing the music with the possibility of a nationwide ban if it defies a government order to sell to an American company unless the popular social media app can convince a high-powered panel that its data security restructuring plan sufficiently guards against national security concerns. At the heart of this social media business and national security drama is the increasingly tense relations between the US and China. The video-sharing platform with 150 million US users is best known for quick snippets of viral dance routines and has been under scrutiny for years by federal authorities who say that its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, could share sensitive user data with the Chinese government, or push propaganda and misinformation on its behalf. Having already banned the shipment of certain technologies to China, and recently passing new legislation banning the app on government devices, lawmakers want to pursue a nationwide b

Updated On: 31 Mar 2023 | 11:11 PM IST

Lemon8: Marketing itself as a 'content sharing platform with a youthful community', the app lets users make longer blog-like posts about topics such as fashion, fitness, travel and cooking

Updated On: 31 Mar 2023 | 11:23 AM IST

A year ago, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, TikTok started labelling accounts operated by Russian state propaganda agencies as a way to tell users they were being exposed to Kremlin disinformation. An analysis a year later shows the policy has been applied inconsistently. It ignores dozens of accounts with millions of followers. Even when used, labels have little impact on Russia's ability to exploit TikTok's powerful algorithms as part of its effort to shape public opinion about the war. Researchers at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, a bipartisan, transatlantic nonprofit operated by the German Marshall Fund that studies authoritarian disinformation, identified nearly 80 TikTok accounts operated by Russian state outlets like RT or Sputnik, or by individuals linked to them, including RT's editor-in-chief. More than a third of the accounts were unlabelled, despite a labelling policy announced by TikTok a year ago. The labels, which appear in bold immediately below an ...

Updated On: 30 Mar 2023 | 5:00 PM IST

Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley tried to force a Senate vote Wednesday on legislation that would ban TikTok from operating in the United States, but he was blocked by a fellow Republican as lawmakers in both chambers are still trying to figure out what action, if any, is appropriate against the social media app. In trying to force a vote a move that rarely works in the Senate, since one senator's objection can block it Hawley called TikTok digital fentanyl and argued it could give the Chinese government access to data from 150 million American users. His bill would block and prohibit U.S. transactions with TikTok's parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., within 30 days. The bill sends the message to Communist China that you cannot buy us, Hawley said. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky objected to Hawley's motion, arguing that trying to ban an app would violate the Constitution and anger the millions of voters who use it. Speech is protected whether you like it or not, Paul ..

Updated On: 30 Mar 2023 | 9:58 AM IST

Taking to his official Twitter handle, McCarthy called it "very concerning" that the TikTok CEO can't be honest and admit that China has access to TikTok

Updated On: 27 Mar 2023 | 8:20 AM IST

Recent moves by President Joe Biden to pressure TikTok over its Chinese ownership and approve oil drilling in an untapped area of Alaska are testing the loyalty of young voters, a group that's largely been in his corner. Youth turnout surged in the three elections since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, helping Biden eke out victories in swing states in 2020, pick up a Democratic Senate seat in the 2022 election and stem potential losses in the House. But the 80-year-old president has never been the favorite candidate of young liberals itching for a new generation of American leadership. As Biden gears up for an expected reelection campaign, a potential TikTok ban and the Alaska drilling could weigh him down. Meanwhile, his plan to wipe out billions of dollars in student loan debt is in jeopardy at the Supreme Court. The effort, announced shortly before last year's midterms, was an attempt by Biden to keep a promise he made after defeating progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders i

Updated On: 25 Mar 2023 | 7:38 PM IST

Banning the app hasn't really worked in India. It's unclear if the partial ban in the UK will. Perhaps the solution lies in creating an alternative

Updated On: 24 Mar 2023 | 10:33 PM IST

US lawmakers have grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew about data security and harmful content, with some pushing to ban the popular short-video app nationwide. A Singaporean native, Chew told the lawmakers that TikTok prioritises user safety and as he sought to avert a ban by downplaying the app's ties to China. Both Republican and Democratic representatives aggressively questioned Chew on topics including TikTok's content moderation practices, its data security plans, and past spying on journalists. Here's a look at some of the concerns about TikTok and its ownership. WHY DOES WASHINGTON SAY TIKTOK IS A THREAT? TikTok, which has over 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd., which appoints its executives. ByteDance is based in Beijing but registered in the Cayman Islands, as is common for privately owned Chinese companies. Its headquarters is in Beijing's northwestern Haidian district, home to key universities and a hub for t

Updated On: 24 Mar 2023 | 7:25 PM IST

Chew, who appeared before dozens of House Energy and Commerce Committee members late on Thursday, offered reassurances that the company would enhance privacy

Updated On: 24 Mar 2023 | 10:47 AM IST

The commissions of the House of Commons and House of Lords have announced they will follow the move taken by the government on official devices, citing the need for cyber security

Updated On: 24 Mar 2023 | 7:31 AM IST

Chew faced hostile questioning from the House Energy and Commerce Committee as he verbally danced to make the case that the social media giant is taking real action

Updated On: 24 Mar 2023 | 7:29 AM IST

TikTok has said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on what it calls rigorous data security efforts under the name "Project Texas"

Updated On: 23 Mar 2023 | 11:42 PM IST

The mobile app's 150 million users in the US and the strength of its content-recommendation engine mean any infraction is viewed as a potential societal threat

Updated On: 23 Mar 2023 | 8:59 AM IST

TikTok is ramping up a public relations campaign to fend off the possibility of a nationwide ban by the Biden administration, and it's bringing some unconventional advocates to help: online influencers. Dozens of TikTok creators some with millions of followers on the video-sharing app came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby in favour of the platform, one day before lawmakers are slated to grill the company's chief executive about concerns over user data falling into the hands of the Chinese government. Shou Zi Chew plans to tell Congress on Thursday that TikTok, which was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, is committed to user safety, data protection and security, and keeping the platform free from Chinese government influence. He will also answer questions from U.S. lawmakers worried about the social media platform's effects on its young user base. At the heart of TikTok's trouble is a Chinese national intelligence law that would compel Chinese companies to fork over data to th

Updated On: 23 Mar 2023 | 7:27 AM IST

Shou Zi Chew, the CEO of Chinese short-form video platform, which faces a nationwide ban in the US, has warned users as he prepares to appear before the US Congress on March 23

Updated On: 22 Mar 2023 | 11:38 AM IST