TikTok
Ex-ByteDance Executive Claims Company Shared Data on U.S. Users With Chinese Government
A former executive at ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok, has come forward with accusations that the company provided backdoor access to data on U.S. users and boosted, demoted and removed certain content at the direction of the Chinese government. A wrongful termination suit filed by Yintao Yu, who was head of engineering for […]
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AI Decision-Making in Hollywood Is Already Here, Now What?
Every creator on earth now feels the guiding hand of AI. On social media, TikTokers are rewarded with massive views for tailoring content to an algorithm that is meticulously designed to trigger dopamine release. In Hollywood, producers are rewarded with lucrative film deals for developing projects that feed the black box AI at studios and […]
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Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick Speak Out on Drag Bans in TikTok Video
Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are calling out recent anti-LGBTQ laws that have been passed in several states across the nation. The actor shared a video to his TikTok Sunday, which has garnered more than 2.5 million views, of him and his wife Sedgwick dancing to Taylor Swift’s song “Karma,” followed with a caption, “Drag […]
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As TikTok Ban Gains Favor With Lawmakers, Creators Keep Asking, “Really?”
With the future of TikTok in the hands of lawmakers — Montana is set to become the first state to ban the app entirely — the hundreds of thousands of creators who use the platform daily are, by now, used to conversations about diversifying their brand just in case a nationwide ban becomes a reality. […]
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Snap CEO Says He’d “Love” a TikTok Ban In the “Short Term”
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel says a U.S. ban on TikTok would be beneficial in the “short term” but shared his concerns about the longer-term implications of “singling out a single technology company.” “We’d love that in the short term,” Spiegel said in an interview with Kara Swisher at the tech and social platform’s Snap Partner […]
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TikTok Set to Be Banned In Montana, Which Would Be First State to Take Action
As the government weighs a national TikTok ban, Montana lawmakers passed on Friday a bill requiring app stores to stop carrying the app. The governor is expected to sign the measure. The action goes the farthest of any state that has passed legislation relating to TikTok in preventing users from downloading the Chinese-owned video app. […]
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TikTok to Pitch Ad Buyers at IAB Newfronts Amid Scrutiny
In 2022, the last in-person event of the IAB Newfronts was Twitter, a sort of last hurrah for advertisers on the platform before it was sold to Elon Musk. In 2023, the newfronts will end with another evening presentation from a platform with a decidedly uncertain future: TikTok. The advertising trade organization released its planned […]
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Biden’s TikTok Dilemma: Go After China or Pursue Social Media Antitrust Claims
In big tech, data is currency, and TikTok is printing money. Once known for viral dance videos, the platform has built itself into a digital advertising juggernaut. The app has more than 150 million monthly users and 5 million businesses it can harvest information from to sell ads, it disclosed March 21. It’s the leading video-sharing app in […]
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TikTok CEO’s Testimony to Congress May End Up Escalating Calls for a Ban
Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee interrogated the chief executive of TikTok on alleged national security risks posed by the immensely popular video-sharing app, while the CEO stressed that data privacy and security issues are prevalent across all of Big Tech and that the company doesn’t share information with the Chinese government. During […]
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TikTok Now Has More Than 150M U.S. Users
As its CEO prepares to face Congress this week, TikTok on Tuesday disclosed that it now has more than 150 million monthly active users in the U.S., up from 100 million a year ago. Its explosive growth for the social video platform (Snapchat, with a years-long head start, says it has about 150 million users […]
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TikTok’s Former Head of Product Says Creator Fund Wasn’t Launched to “Help Creators Monetize”
Sean Kim, the former head of product for TikTok’s U.S. operations, said the company’s $2 billion creator fund was not launched with the altruistic goal of helping creators monetize on the platform. Instead, according to the executive, TikTok created the fund as a “reactive measure” against competition like YouTube and Snap and as a way […]
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TikTok Star Alix Earle Signs With UTA
Alix Earle, the beauty and lifestyle creator who has experienced a meteoric rise in online fame, has signed with UTA for representation in all areas. The 22-year-old University of Miami senior has grown her TikTok following at a rapid clip, reaching 4.8 million followers to date — a figure that represents a 1,000 percent increase […]
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