In addition to an update to its subscription-based revenue-sharing model, the company announced today two AI-powered features that will help creators streamline their pre- and post-production processes. Here are the details.
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The European Union has found that both Meta and TikTok failed to properly protect children, including making it difficult to report the presence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in their apps.
Separately, Meta has faced a setback in its defense of lawsuits filed by multiple US states, accusing the company of deliberately making its apps addictive despite knowing they were harmful to teenagers …
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The ongoing TikTok-US saga seems close to reaching a conclusion, but we’re not there yet. As details get worked out for a potential Oracle-driven deal, a new Bloomberg report details the plans for TikTok’s algorithm in the US.
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Both US and Chinese officials are stating that an agreement has been reached for an American TikTok spin-off to be sold to American investors.
It’s not the first time the Trump administration has claimed that a deal has been agreed, but it is the first time that China is backing the claim, albeit in somewhat more muted terms …
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TikTok has been found selling GPS trackers through its Shop feature that are being marketed by viral videos explicitly encouraging secretly tracking a romantic partner. What’s most alarming is that these videos have millions of views, and metrics show that over a hundred thousand have been sold.
I usually reserve Security Bite for digital security topics, but this discovery was too riveting to ignore. As first reported by 404 Media, the trackers are being compared to Apple AirTags—but for the wrong reasons…
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Video streaming platform TikTok is finally introducing community fact-checking, in the form of TikTok Footnotes – the equivalent to X’s Community Notes. This is initially available in the US only.
The company has also announced new parental controls, aimed at giving oversight of both TikTok consumption and uploads by teens …
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The ongoing TikTok saga rumbles on, but a new report claims that we may be close to a resolution. It says US TikTok users will get their own version of the app, which will be owned by an American company.
The latest development happens shortly after we got sight of the letter sent to Apple to persuade the company to return TikTok to the App Store despite it being illegal to do so …
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Tony Tan, a Google shareholder, has obtained and published a set of letters the Trump administration sent to multiple tech companies, essentially saying: don’t worry about the law, the president has your back, keep TikTok online.
However, Mr. Tan disagrees. And he’s taking legal action to prove it.
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The White House confirmed today that President Donald Trump will sign a new executive order giving TikTok 90 days to avoid a U.S. ban. This marks the third time Trump has delayed enforcement of the law that technically went into effect in January.
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Today, TikTok announced AI Alive, an AI filter that will allow users to animate static photos through prompts. ByteDance says that this new image-to-video feature undergoes multiple checks to avoid misuse, and its output will be labeled as AI-generated.
Here’s how to use it.
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TikTok has told advertisers that it’s in the US to stay, stating that “we are here” and “are absolutely confident in our platform and confident in the future of this platform.”
The statement came after Trump indicated that he would extend the current enforcement pause again if needed, despite that fact that this is probably unlawful …
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TikTok was temporarily saved from a US ban earlier this year, but a key deadline is coming up that could see the ban reinstated. According to a new report, President Trump’s plan to stop that from happening is a new company called “TikTok America.”
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According to a report from The New York Times, Amazon has just submitted an offer to acquire TikTok. TikTok will potentially face another U.S. ban as soon as April 5th, if ByteDance does not divest the platform to an American entity by then.
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A group of US senators have written to President Trump to warn him that his handling of the TikTok ban is leaving Apple, Google, and Oracle exposed to “ruinous legal liability.”
The three companies are potentially at risk of being fined up to $850B (yes, billion not million) for continuing to offer the app despite it being banned from the US …
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The UK’s privacy watchdog has announced a “major investigation” into the child protection measures of three popular apps: TikTok, Reddit, and Imgur.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said that it has previously succeeded in bringing about child protection changes on X, Sendit, BeReal, Daily Motion, and Viber …
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Neither Apple nor Google have returned TikTok to their respective app stores, and with very good reason: the supposed get-out-of-jail-free card offered by Trump is nothing of the sort. Both companies would be left exposed to hundreds of billions of dollars of liability.
As of the weekend, Android users who want to download TikTok do have another option – but it’s not one I’d advise them to take. Instead, they’d be better off using the workaround available to iPhone users …
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TikTok has bounced back from its time offline according to traffic logs, but creators are worried about the uncertain future of the app.
Some are assuming the worst, and preparing for the platform to shut down, while others feel TikTok has a unique role and it would be difficult to replicate their success on other platforms …
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Digital collectible card game Marvel Snap is back in the App Store, after the game’s developer seemingly severed connections with TikTok parent ByteDance.
Trump has suggested that Microsoft is negotiating to buy TikTok, despite the company’s CEO having previously described the suggestion as “the strangest thing” …
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Despite the fact that you can still use the service, TikTok is still very much so banned in the United States. President Trump promised to not fine TikTok and its service providers for continuing to run the services, but that’s just a promise. He also signed an executive order officially suspending the ban, but there’s great odds that that executive order doesn’t actually hold up legally.
For one reason or another, Apple (and Google) have both decided that they don’t want to take the risk. If a court later decides that Trumps promises don’t hold up legally, Apple could be on the hook for up to $850 billion in fines. It just isn’t worth it for them.
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As of now, the Chinese-based TikTok app remains unavailable in the United States App Store on iPhone, as the company failed to sell itself to a US owner, before last week’s ban came into effect.
However, there is apparently ongoing negotiations to get TikTok under new ownership, which would give it a path back to the App Store. No deal is close to being finalized, yet, though.
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The never-ending saga of the TikTok ban continues, with a ByteDance board member suggesting that a compromise would be possible.
The remark was made by William E. Ford, an American businessman who is one of the directors of parent company ByteDance …
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Used iPhones with TikTok installed on them are being listed for sale on eBay for thousands of dollars, as people try to cash in on the ban. One listing even asks $50,000 for an unlocked iPhone 12 Pro Max “with TikTok app.”
Although Trump has issued an executive order claiming to shield companies from liability for breaking the law, Apple, Google and others continue to comply by keeping TikTok out of their US app stores …
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TikTok’s deactivation for US users may have been short-lived, but the app is still missing from the iPhone’s App Store. Here’s why one lawyer says Apple can’t bring it back yet.
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The TikTok ban which came into effect on Sunday has been suspended for 75 days by an executive order signed by President Trump on his inauguration day. He has also said that US companies who provide services to TikTok during this time will not be prosecuted.
However, legal scholars note that Trump’s order does not appear to comply with the law, and say that companies who make TikTok available remain liable for hundreds of billions of dollars of fines, so Apple is unlikely to return the app to the App Store …
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