On Friday night, the Department of Justice urged a federal court to dismiss TikTok’s request to overturn a law that could potentially ban the app, citing national security worries over its alleged use of internal search tools to gather data on users’ opinions on sensitive issues. This response comes after TikTok filed a petition in May to contest the law, which mandates its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app or face a ban in the US. The legislation was signed by President Biden in April. In one of…

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On Monday, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump expressed concerns about TikTok posing a national security risk. However, he also acknowledged that banning the app could negatively impact some children and potentially benefit Meta Platforms’ Facebook, a company he has previously criticized. Trump reiterated his concerns as lawmakers weigh a bill this week that would give TikTok owner ByteDance about six months to divest the popular short-form video app. The US House of Representatives will vote Wednesday on legislation that would give China’s ByteDance a quick deadline to divest from the…

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On Monday, a trade group representing TikTok and other prominent tech companies filed a lawsuit against Utah for its pioneering legislation, which mandates parental consent for children and teenagers to access social media applications. Two laws signed by Republican Gov. Spencer Cox in March prohibit minors from using social media at 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., unless a parent has given permission — and require age verification to open and maintain a social media account in the state. The restrictions are designed to protect children from targeted ads and addictive…

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Meta and TikTok are currently in a dispute over the extent of an EU law that will establish fresh regulations on competition within the digital market starting in March. The European Commission has designated 22 major online companies as “core platform services” subject to additional checks and obligations under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to combat anti-competitive practices. The list includes familiar brands from social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to so-called “brokerage” applications such as Google Maps, Amazon Marketplace and Apple’s AppStore, operating systems iOS, Android and…

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On Monday, the chief technology regulator of the EU urged TikTok’s CEO to make every possible effort to combat disinformation, while acknowledging the alterations already implemented by the video-sharing platform. The Chinese app, popular with younger online users, is one of 19 platforms with stricter rules to combat illegal and harmful online content under a landmark EU law. “We have seen changes to the TikTok platform in recent months: new features have been released to protect users and invest in content moderation, trust and security,” EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry…

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BRUSSELS: TikTok has “spared no effort” to prevent the spread of disinformation on the short video-sharing app, EU industry chief Thierry Breton told the company’s chief executive on Monday, as the European Union steps up efforts to curb the forces of Big Tech. Last month, Breton gave TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, an Oct. 25 deadline to provide information on its crisis management efforts and ordered the company to provide information by Nov. 8 on how it protects elections and minors’ online integrity on its platform. . The European Commissioner…

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Chef Jon Kung utilizes his popular cooking videos to establish connections between the food we consume and its impact on the climate emergency. According to him, transitioning to induction cooking is not only beneficial for the environment but also for our well-being and safety. Currently, his main focus is on finding ways to inspire change and maintain hope, as he believes there is still a chance to reverse the current situation. On October 31, the renowned Detroit chef will release his debut cookbook titled Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from…

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The internet has a penchant for taking beloved quotes from popular culture and transforming them into online celebrations, as seen with events like “Star Wars Day” on May 4th and “Mean Girls Day” on October 3rd. On October 3rd, social media was abuzz with quotes, memes, and contributions from the cast of the film “Mean Girls.” Additionally, Paramount Pictures made the entire movie available on TikTok. This is not completely unheard of in the history of the platform. Like YouTube before it, TikTok has long been populated by fans (or…

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TikTok has emerged as a fresh battleground for entertainment piracy, as certain users are fragmenting movies and TV shows into numerous segments and sharing them, seemingly catering to individuals who are unwilling to purchase a movie ticket or subscribe to a streaming platform. But Hollywood shouldn’t worry. It may be free, but watching movies and shows this way isn’t easy. Fearing lawyers and TikTok’s copyright police, pirates are making segments hard to find. You can spend hours tracking down all the clips from the latest blockbuster movie and putting them…

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