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☆ A TikTok ban would be a win for Mark Zuckerberg
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg will very likely end up the ultimate winner in the most recent push to force a sale or ban of Chinese-owned TikTok. The House passed a TikTok "ban" or forced sale as part of a bill on military aid for Ukraine and Israel. A year ago, BI's Grace Kay wrote that TikTok legislation would be like "an early Christmas present" for Zuckerberg. Instagram had more growth and downloads last year than TikTok, and after Instagram faced an existential crisis, it's having a surprising comeback.) If ByteDance ends up selling TikTok to a US company, it's hard to imagine it will be a smooth transition.

Persons: —, Zuck —, Mark Zuckerberg, Joe Biden, it'll, Zuckerberg's Meta, BI's Grace Kay, Zuckerberg, Instagram, Adam Mosseri, TikTok, there's, ByteDance, Steven Mnuchin Organizations: Service, Business, Zuckerberg's, Meta, YouTube, Big Tech Locations: Ukraine, Israel

Within days, millions of TikTok videos using music from Universal artists went mute, and since then guessing which side would blink first has become a media-business parlor game. Backing this up, one study found that TikTok users reported experiencing higher levels of flow than Instagram users. Corey Basch, who analyzed 100 popular TikTok videos with the hashtag mentalhealth for a 2022 study, emerged concerned about the looping effect of the algorithm. Cerave Sales increased by more than 60 percent in 2020 after skin care became a lockdown pastime and TikTok users discovered the drugstore mainstay. Cat Crack Catnip It briefly sold out in 2021 after TikTok users posted videos of their cats going crazy for it.

Persons: randos, TikTok, you’ve, Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, ”, “ Wonka, Barbie, “ Oppenheimer, —, goofing, cavorting, Sue Fleishman, Z’s Walter Cronkite, Spehar, Donald J, Trump, he’s, Caitlin Clark’s, Joe Biden, Justin Bieber, Abbie Richards, Richards, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X, Fleetwood Mac, Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Drake, Swift, ByteDance, can’t, Mark Warner, hasn’t, Al, ear on, Li Organizations: Fleetwood Mac, Facebook, Sony, Universal, Warner Bros, White, Pew Research Center, YouTube, The New York Times, Kansas City Chiefs, Media, Colgate, Universal Music Group, ByteDance, Intelligence Committee, e Locations: United States, Beijing, Biden’s, TikTok, Singapore, View, Calif, China, American

☆ Google is starting to feel like any other business, and staging a comeback won't be easy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In today's big story, we're looking at how Google has gone from the tech industry's vanguard of cool to just another boring company . AdvertisementGoogle has long stayed atop Silicon Valley's volatile popularity contest — but the best place to work in tech is starting to feel like any other business , Business Insider's Hugh Langley and Lara O'Reilly write. Bureaucracy, an aversion to risk, and deference to Wall Street over employees — things Google long eschewed — have become the norm. The latest example is the debacle surrounding Gemini — its flashy new AI model that faced backlash for being too "woke."

Persons: —, Rebecca Zisser, Hugh Langley, Lara O'Reilly, Alistair Barr, Sundar Pichai, Hugh, Lara, Mateusz Wlodarczyk, BI's Peter Kafka, it's, David Rosenberg, Gary Shilling, Snowflake's Frank Slootman, Ozgur Hakan Aslan Toyota, Boxabl, Elon Musk, Tesla, Hewlett Packard, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Gemini, Meta, Big Tech, OpenAI, Corporations, Nvidia, SEC, Universal Music Group, Universal, BI Locations: —, New York, London

☆ Forget Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny — TikTokers are now dancing to royalty-free music
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-05 | by ( Amanda Goh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

If you open TikTok today, you might well be greeted with creators dancing to royalty-free music instead of your favorite tunes from artists like Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny. The move has resulted in a whole archive of "muted" TikTok videos, and even the UMG artists themselves aren't safe. Some TikTok creators are already responding to UMG's move by filming themselves dancing to songs in the public domain. I'm glad they are far in the past because I look awkward mouthing and dancing to no music," Romano said. "I would say 75% of my videos would contain UMG music," Romano said.

Persons: Taylor Swift, That's, Justin Bieber, Bieber, Kevin MacLeod, Kristen Wiig, Will Ferrell, Sophia Romano, Romano, UMG, Brian Gabriel, Gabriel, Nikalas Anderson, Anderson, Für Elise, Wendy Ly, Swift's Organizations: Universal Music Group, UMG, Globes, BI Locations: NYC, Los Angeles, Japan

As of early Thursday, a vast roster of popular songs were disappearing from the social media platform's library. The complete removal of UMG-licensed music will likely take a few days — but chances are, avid TikTokers are already seeing the effects. Artists will also not be able to post the audio of their UMG-licensed songs on TikTok. “It is sad and disappointing that Universal Music Group has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters,” TikTok said. Mall stressed the overall consequences of pulling music from social media platforms like TikTok — particularly for younger developing artists.

Persons: —, Taylor Swift, Bunny, Drake —, TikTok, UMG, ”, Andrew Mall, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, ” UMG, ” TikTok, we're, “, UMG's Virgin EMI Records Ted Cockle, Cockle, Alexandra J, Roberts, SZA, Drake, Billie Eilish —, Jessica Henig, it's, Henig, Michelle Chapman Organizations: Universal, Group, Associated Press, “ Universal, Northeastern University, UMG, Universal Music, UMG's Virgin EMI Records, Music Management, ”, Associated, Virgin EMI, AP Locations: UMG, New York

☆ How Tunnel Girl's DIY storm shelter took over TikTok — then turned people against her
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-04 | by ( Sirena Bergman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

By August 2023, Kala referred to her project as an "underground tunnel system." They did not comment further regarding whether the home in question was linked to the TikTok account. However, FOX5 reported receiving a tip identifying the home, which two residents confirmed matched the property in Kala's videos. But on December 30, Bogado posted a TikTok video disputing this account. When contacted via TikTok direct message, Kala declined to comment for this article.

Persons: —, Kala, TikTokers, it's, she'd, FOX5, Bogado, who's, Kala's, Derek Organizations: Service, Business, NBC News, FOX, The Center, Investigative, NBC, BI Locations: Washington, DC, Herndon , Virginia, Herndon, Kala's, Central America

☆ VP Kamala Harris ducks questions on TikTok, Elon Musk antisemitic post
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the New York Times annual DealBook summit on November 29, 2023 in New York City. Vice President Kamala Harris refused to speak Wednesday about two hot-button issues — TikTok regulation and the promotion by Elon Musk of an antisemitic conspiracy — despite the fact that the White House has taken strong stances on both topics. The vice president likewise ducked questions about Musk, the mega-billionaire head of Tesla , SpaceX, and X, the social media site where he recently boosted the antisemitic claim. The vice president's tight-lipped evasion Wednesday starkly contrasted with how vocal the White House has been on both TikTok and the Musk controversy. At the time of the post, however, the White House blasted Musk for appearing to support antisemitism on social media.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Harris, Elon, Ross Sorkin, Joe Biden, Biden, TikTok, Musk, Andrew Bates, Tesla Organizations: New York Times, Elon, White, CNBC, The New York Times, SpaceX, House, Pentagon Locations: New York City, TikTok, Israel, China, U.S, Ukraine

LONDON (AP) — TikTok and Facebook owner Meta are filing legal challenges against new European Union rules designed to counter the dominance of digital giants and make online competition fairer by giving consumers more choice. The Digital Markets Act will take effect by March, with a list of dos and don'ts for big tech companies aimed at giving users more choices and threatening big penalties if they don't comply. Labeling TikTok a gatekeeper undermines the DMA’s goal by “protecting actual gatekeepers from newer competitors like TikTok,” the company said, adding that the video-sharing app is “arguably the most capable challenger” to bigger social media rivals. Political Cartoons View All 1250 ImagesAmazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft also were given the gatekeeper label in September, along with TikTok parent company ByteDance and Meta. Meta is not arguing with being designated a gatekeeper, but the company thinks the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, was wrong to specifically single out Marketplace and Messenger as core platform services.

Persons: — TikTok, Meta, TikTok, ” Meta Organizations: Facebook, Union, Digital Markets, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, European Commission

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — World leaders, CEOs, protesters and thousands of others will soon descend on San Francisco for a global trade summit that could give the battered city a chance to reverse its image of an economic powerhouse now in decline. As host, San Francisco and the city's partners are polishing sidewalks, scrubbing away graffiti and moving homeless people to accommodations indoors. “It shows that San Francisco isn’t dead,” he said, adding he believes “there's an appetite for things to change” despite negative media narratives. This month, Air China resumed direct flights between San Francisco and Beijing after suspending flights just before the pandemic. —-Associated Press journalists Haven Daley in San Francisco and Huizhong Wu in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, London Breed, Breed, —, ”, Gavin Newsom, Newsom, Janet Yellen, Karl Kramer, LaunchSquad, Gilbert Manirakiza, Chotto Matte, Kurt Zdesar, San Francisco isn’t, “, Azalina Eusope, ” Eusope, Jennifer Friedenbach, San Francisco, Emily Cohen, Malcolm Yeung, Haven Daley, Huizhong Wu Organizations: FRANCISCO, Economic Cooperation, Francisco's, United Nations, London, Associated Press . California Gov, San Francisco, Fox, Treasury, San, APEC, San Francisco Living Wage Coalition, San Francisco Giants, dreamers, Coalition, Homelessness, city's Department of Homelessness, Air China, Chinatown Community Development Center, Associated Press Locations: San Francisco, Asia, United, Francisco, San, U.S, Israel, Kenya, Chinatown, Malaysian, Tenderloin District, Beijing, Tourism, China, Bangkok

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — TikTok said it will halt its online retail operation in Indonesia on Wednesday to comply with the country’s decision to ban e-commerce transactions on social media platforms — a big blow to the video platform's fastest-growing market. The Chinese-owned video sharing app said in a statement it will stop facilitating e-commerce sales in TikTok Shop Indonesia by 5 p.m. Wednesday. “Our priority is to remain compliant with local laws and regulations,” said the statement released Tuesday on its website. Political Cartoons View All 1196 ImagesA week before the ban was announced, Southeast Asia’s largest wholesale market, Tanah Abang, came under inspection. But the company said it will respect the regulations and “will take a constructive path forward."

Persons: — TikTok, ”, Zulkifli Hasan, Sellers, TikTok, China’s ByteDance Organizations: Indonesia’s Trade, Trade Ministry, Cooperatives, Enterprises, TikTok Locations: JAKARTA, Indonesia, Indonesian, Shop, Abang, Jakarta, TikTok Indonesia, Asia, Beijing, United States, Britain, New Zealand

☆ This may be the most bullish note we've seen on Nvidia — signaling what's next for the stock
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Take Club stock Nvidia (NVDA) for example. You can't own Nvidia if that's the data you're using to generate your worldview of future demand, especially after the monstrous run shares have already had this year. After all, those buying Nvidia's chips will need to harvest profits on their investment at some point but 12 to 18 months is a lifetime in the stock market. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang,speaks at the Supermicro keynote presentation during the Computex conference in Taipei on June 1, 2023.

Persons: Jim Cramer, That's, Bernstein, we're, Jim loves NVDA, It's, —, ByteDance, NVDA, Jim Cramer's, Jim, Jensen Huang, Walid Berrazeg Organizations: Nvidia, Semiconductor Manufacturing, Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, CNBC, Getty Locations: China, Taipei

☆ I got a job on Netflix's 'Next in Fashion' by DMing a producer on Instagram. Here's what my job is like as a stylist
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

She landed a stylist job on season 2 of 'Next in Fashion' after dropping out of fashion school. I wouldn't have been able to land my first major stylist job at New York Fashion Week if I had been at school. Three days later, he called and said he was on the New York Fashion Week calendar, and asked if I would style his show. These are a few models I styled for Nicholas Raefski’s Fall/Winter 2022 presentation at New York Fashion Week. I was allowed to make TikTok content on the Netflix set, as long as I didn't give away anything creatively.

Now, when she opens the app, “all I see is Black women, Black people and Black businesses. She would have to specifically type in “Black girl” to find other Black women. This was created so that Black women could support Black women because nobody else seems to be.”James said she never intended to put another race down and she encouraged the trend with the purpose of showing love to Black women. “Black women are navigating the combined force of racism and sexism on a daily basis,” she added. The creator of the trend, Michele, said she applauds Black men for sometimes defending Black women on the app.

☆ TikTok says it has never been used to target specific people after Forbes reported the app would be used to monitor some individuals' locations
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

TikTok says the app has never been used to target specific individuals in the US government. Its parent ByteDance planned to use the app to monitor the locations of some Americans , Forbes reported. monitor the locations of some Americans TikTok has been caught in debates about privacy and security under in the US. The social media platform tweeted the denial after Forbes reported on October 20 that ByteDance, TikTok's China-based parent, planned to use the app to monitor the locations of certain Americans. TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said the app collects approximate location information based on the IP addresses of users, Forbes reported.

☆ TikTok could face a $29 million fine in the UK for failing to protect kids’ privacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — TikTok may face a £27 million ($29 million) fine in the U.K. after privacy regulators found failings in the company’s handling of children’s data. “We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections,” Information Commissioner John Edwards said in a statement Monday. In a statement to CNBC, a TikTok spokesperson said the company disagrees with the ICO’s provisional fine and plans to make a formal response. Last year, the Netherlands’ Data Protection Authority handed TikTok a 750,000 euro ($723,371) fine for violating the privacy of young children and failing to offer its information in Dutch. Western officials are worried the platform may be providing a backdoor to Beijing allowing it to snoop on non-Chinese users.

☆ TikTok could face a $29 million fine in the UK for failing to protect kids' privacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — TikTok may face a £27 million ($29 million) fine in the U.K. after privacy regulators found failings in the company's handling of children's data. The Information Commissioner's Office issued TikTok a "notice of intent" informing the Chinese-owned video app of its "provisional view that TikTok breached UK data protection law between May 2018 and July 2020." "We all want children to be able to learn and experience the digital world, but with proper data privacy protections," Information Commissioner John Edwards said in a statement Monday. "Companies providing digital services have a legal duty to put those protections in place, but our provisional view is that TikTok fell short of meeting that requirement." The ICO can issue a maximum fine amounting to 4% of TikTok's annual global revenues under the EU's GDPR, which is still enshrined in U.K. law.

☆ It's official: Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner are smarter than Mark Zuckerberg
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-29 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"Make Instagram Instagram again," the half sisters advised in posts on the platform, circulating a petition to stop the changes. And Zuckerberg won't be able to say Kim and Kylie didn't warn him. This after Facebook — Meta's former crown jewel — back in February reported a loss of users for the first time. But it all mostly boils down to the fact that Meta doesn't know how to innovate its product anymore. Flying a plane into a virtual mountainNow, none of this is to say that Meta doesn't make money.

☆ NYC's cutthroat rental market — Noom users dish — TikTok stars' fav gym
▼ + stars: | 2021-09-24 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This week, we're giving you a look inside NYC's booming rental market, taking you along for a workout at a celebrity gym, and showing you what users really think of the anti-diet app Noom. In a conversation with Insider, Aubrey told us stylists are being silenced, isolated, and manipulated by the company — and shared why she's happy she quit. Here's what Aubrey told us about Stitch Fix. Crystal Cox/Business InsiderNoom markets itself as an anti-diet lifestyle app — but this writer found it's a diet just like any other. DogpoundDogpound, the hot LA gym where Justin Bieber and TikTok stars like Addison Rae go to sweat it out, is notorious for its grueling personal-training sessions.

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