Teen's TikTok video about China's Muslim camps goes viral


TikTok Admits It Suppressed Videos by Disabled, Queer, and Fat Creators

QuoteTikTok, a social network video app with more than 1 billion downloads globally, admitted Tuesday to a set of policies that had suppressed the reach of content created by users assumed to be "vulnerable to cyberbullying." As examples of users "susceptible to bullying or harassment," the policy listed people with facial disfigurement, autism, Down syndrome, and "Disabled people or people with some facial problems such as birthmark, slight squint and etc."

TikTok's surging popularity has lured advertisers, deceptive tactics
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/13/tiktoks-surging-popularity-has-lured-advertisers-deceptive-tactics.html

TikTok caught spying on users thanks to new iPhone iOS 14 feature
https://nypost.com/2020/06/26/tiktok-caught-spying-on-users-thanks-to-ios-14-feature/

U.S. considers banning TikTok and other Chinese social media apps, Mike Pompeo says - CBS News
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-pompeo-united-states-weighing-ban-chinese-social-media-apps/

Microsoft shares do a little jig on possible TikTok acquisition - MarketWatch
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-shares-do-a-little-jig-on-possible-tiktok-acquisition-11596230607?mod=home-page

Microsoft to TikTok users:

I hope they do better with TikTok than they did with Mixer

Quote from: Travoli on August 01, 2020, 01:51:18 AM
I hope they do better with TikTok than they did with Mixer

Yeah, in the past, Microsoft buying anything was the kiss of death.

^{The plot thickens;}

Trump says he will ban TikTok through executive action as soon as Saturday
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/31/trump-says-he-will-ban-tiktok-through-executive-action-as-soon-as-saturday.html

>>Microsoft buying anything was the kiss of death

Remember when people used to actually use Skype? By all rights, Skype could have been Zoom.

>>executive action

"Well, I have that authority. I can do it with an executive order or that," Trump said." Not the first time he has said that, most famously in total violation of the 10th Amendment
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2020/04/14/trump-claim-total-authority-claim-10th-amendment/2988013001/

And how does that even work? Executive orders to hosting companies and ISPs to block traffic to Tik Tok IPs?

The rationale is incoherent, with Pompeo saying one thing, Naovarro another, and Trump another.

QuoteIn an interview with Fox News that aired July 6, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said users who download the app are putting "private information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party." Trump cited a different reason: punishing China for its response to the coronavirus. Asked about Pompeo's remarks, Trump confirmed the US is considering a TikTok ban. "It's a big business," Trump said during an interview with Gray Television. "Look, what happened with China with this virus, what they've done to this country and to the entire world, is disgraceful." ... On July 12, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business that TikTok and messaging app WeChat "are the biggest forms of censorship on the Chinese mainland" and to expect "strong action on that."

But of course...

QuoteTrump's and Pompeo's remarks came after TikTok users and K-pop fans said they helped spoil attendance at a June presidential rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

https://www.cnet.com/news/trump-targets-tiktok-everything-you-need-to-know/

>>And how does that even work? Executive orders to hosting companies and ISPs to block traffic to Tik Tok IPs?

Answered further down in the CNET article

QuoteIn general, the federal government can demand the sale of a company through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. This panel, part of the US Department of Commerce, is already investigating TikTok in regard to national security concerns. The investigation, first reported in November 2019, could end up requiring changes to TikTok's substantial operations inside the United States, including a sale of its US operations.

The committee has jurisdiction because it reviews foreign ownership and control of companies in the US. ByteDance got its foothold in the United States when it purchased Musical.ly, a US company that ByteDance acquired in 2017 for $800 million and subsequently rebranded as TikTok. The acquisition helped TikTok gain traction with US teens.

There's recent precedent for Chinese companies selling off sections of their businesses. In March, Chinese company Kunlun agreed to sell its controlling stake in gay dating app Grindr after the committee raised national security concerns.

Are there other ways the US government can take away TikTok?
The government could also try to find a legally sound reason to request that Apple and Google pull TikTok from their app stores, according to analysts. And the companies could put up a fight.

"The tech community will be very hesitant to go along with this app ban," said Wayne Lam, an independent technology analyst. "It sets a precedent for the government to ban other apps or even for other global apps to be inaccessible to the US market."

Even if the app were banned, users can install apps on Android devices without downloading them from the Google Play Store, said Carolina Milanesi, a tech analyst at Creative Strategies.

"I don't know at that point how you police that," Milanesi said.

TikTok collected MAC addresses for 15 months on its Android app - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/11/21364017/tiktok-mac-address-collected-identifier-android-violation

Walmart and TikTok partner for shoppable live-stream event
https://www.fastcompany.com/90587877/walmart-is-bringing-shoppable-fashion-to-tiktok?partner=feedburner

TikTok Quietly Updated Privacy Policy to Collect Faceprints and Voiceprints
https://www.pandasecurity.com/en/mediacenter/mobile-news/tiktok-privacy-faceprints/

TikTok overtakes YouTube for average watch time in US and UK - BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58464745