DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ ‘Friendly Father’: Why South Korea is banning a song that recently went viral on TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | Gawon Bae | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The song was unveiled in April during a nighttime concert to mark the completion of a housing project in the capital Pyongyang, according to North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency. “This isn’t Gen Z suddenly declaring allegiance for the regime,” said Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar conducting research on North Korean music. “They’re laughing at the regime not with the regime.”Nonetheless, South Korean security officials came down on the parodies. The music video of "Friendly Father" went viral on TikTok. North and South Korea have been cut off from each other since the Korean War in 1953 ended with an armistice.

Persons: Kim Jong, Kim –, Kim “, ”, TikTok, Z, Alexandra Leonzini, “ They’re, Kim, “, Ha Seung, it’s, ” Ha Organizations: CNN, Korean Central News Agency, North, Cambridge University, Korea Communications Standards, Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, country’s National, Dongguk University, North Koreans Locations: Korea, Pyongyang, Korean, South Korean, South Korea, North Korea, KCTV

☆ China is trying to connect Southeast Asia by high-speed rail. Here’s how that’s going
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-25 | by ( Heather Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Imagine jumping on a train in southwestern China, traveling some 2,000 miles and arriving in Singapore – less than 30 hours later. Southeast Asia is the “obvious” choice because of its “proximity to China,” Bowerman adds. “Beijing, I think, ultimately wants to see Southeast Asian countries within its sphere of geopolitical influence. A staff member waits for passengers to board the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train during a week-long public trial phase at the Halim station in Jakarta on September 17, 2023. “In the example of a high-speed railway line between Malaysia and Singapore, Singapore would likely have just one stop – Malaysia would have more,” Wong told CNN.

Persons: China’s, Gary Bowerman, ” Bowerman, ”, Pon Souvannaseng, Peerapon Boonyakiat, Bowerman, Pan Wenbo, Pan, Mei Wei, Wei, “ I’m, Xi Jinping’s, Souvannaseng, Hong Kong –, Hong Kong’s, Yasuyoshi Chiba, Wong Muh Rong, ” Wong Organizations: CNN, Initiative, China Railway, Reuters, East Japan Railway Co, Malaysian, Bentley University, of, Communist Party, Laos Railway, Laos Railway cumulatively, Orient Express, Getty Locations: China, Singapore, Asia, Laos, Kunming, Vientiane –, Indonesia, Jakarta, Bandung, West Java, Thailand, Bangkok, Thai, Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Southeast Asia, “ China, Peerapon, Cities, Penang, Malacca, Phuket Old Town, Beijing, Vietnam, Philippines, Cambodia, Wat, Siem Reap, ”, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Halim, AFP, “

☆ Analysis: Trump on Social Security cuts and a possible TikTok ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But Trump’s comments on TikTok and Social Security, both in an unfettered interview on CNBC, suggest not calculation, but confusion about Social Security and ambivalence about TikTok. Social Security was a top issue during the Republican presidential primary, when Trump attacked his GOP opponents, accusing them of wanting to take social security benefits away from older Americans. In an ad-libbed and meandering answer during a telephone interview broadcast on CNBC, Trump seemed to suggest that he was open to cutting Social Security. Have you changed your, your outlook on how to handle entitlements Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Mr. President? His answer also did nothing to address Kernen’s larger question, about Social Security and Medicare’s insolvency crisis.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden, Biden, Trump, It’s, CNBC’s Joe Kernen, we’ve, Joe Biden’s, Karoline Leavitt, ” It’s, Abby Phillip, Nikki Haley, ByteDance, ” Trump, ” Biden, Brian Fung, Jeff Yass, Steve Bannon, “ Organizations: CNN, Social Security, Trump, CNBC, Social, Republicans, Republican, GOP, ISIS, Federal Reserve, Treasury Department, South Carolina Gov, House Republicans Locations: Trump, TikTok’s China, China, TikTok, Yass

☆ TikTok creators fear US ban as the House prepares to vote on crackdown bill
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-12 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

As House lawmakers prepare to vote on the bill Wednesday, TikTok is encouraging users to call their representatives with a full-screen notification about the legislation. Okamoto’s TikTok account features videos on women’s health, sex education and the occasional glimpse into her personal life. Her sisters are TikTok creators in their own right, one of whom is using her income from TikTok to pay her own way through college, Okamoto said. It’s so tired,” said Grey Prnce, who together with her spouse, Grayson France, co-manages the TikTok account @officiallyverygay. Thus was born @Got2GoNYC, a TikTok account that aims to map all the publicly accessible toilets in the city.

Persons: Washington CNN — TikTok, TikTok, Shou Chew, Nadya Okamoto, Okamoto, She’s, “, ” Okamoto, it’s Chew, ”, Grey Prnce, Grayson France, Teddy Siegel, Siegel, ducking, @Got2GoNYC, ” Siegel, it’s, Prnce Organizations: Washington CNN, Target, CNN, Chinese Community Party Locations: China, Beijing, United States, New York City, Utah, Salt Lake City

☆ White House says no change to official TikTok policy after Biden campaign joins platform amid security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-12 | by ( Donald Judd | Michael Williams | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —The White House on Monday said there are no changes regarding the administration’s long-standing security concerns over TikTok after the President Joe Biden made his campaign debut on the platform Sunday night. In a follow-up exchange with Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary said she was not aware the campaign planned to launch a TikTok account ahead of Sunday. But there are security concerns around the popular video app, which is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese technology company. To date, the US government has provided no specific evidence that the Chinese government has accessed US TikTok user data. Both the Trump and Biden administrations have been somewhat aligned on their national security concerns pertaining to TikTok.

Persons: Joe Biden, John Kirby, ” Kirby, Karine Jean, Pierre, …, ”, Biden, Kelce ”, Travis Kelce, Jason, “, Travis Kelce’s, Taylor Swift, “ Trump, Biden’s, Brandon, Swift, TikTok, it’s, Trump Organizations: Washington CNN, National Security, White House, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Biden, ByteDance, Texas, Trump, Foreign Investment Locations: Biden’s, Chinese, China, United States

☆ Beyoncé announces new hair care line ‘Cécred’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Leah Dolan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Beyoncé has revealed she will be launching a hair care line on February 20. Tina Knowles influence on her daughters career has been far-reaching — one of the first music videos Destiny’s Child shot was for their first number one hit “Bills, Bills, Bills,” (1999), a tale of a disillusioned, independent woman triumphantly cutting off the deadweight of her boyfriend. That is power.”Beyoncé said she "always dreamt" of carrying on her mother's legacy in the hair and beauty industry. Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty ImagesWhile details about what products Cécred will offer are yet to be shared, a trademark request filed in the summer of 2022 clears the company for production of hair care preparations, candles, vitamin supplements, electric hair styling tools, combs, hair accessories, pillow cases and four other goods and services categories. In 2019, Tracee Ellis Ross launched Pattern, a now-award winning natural hair line focused on “curl conscious and textured” customers.

Persons: CNN — Beyoncé, Beyoncé, Tina Knowles, Destiny’s, ” Beyoncé, Harper’s, “, —, ” “, ”, Kevin Mazur, I’ve, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jennifer Aniston, Rachel ”, – Organizations: CNN, Bills Locations: Houston , Texas

☆ Poland’s goodwill toward Ukraine is eroding. The far right is taking advantage
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

The group is capturing voters from the ruling populist party, forcing a hardening in the government's tone towards Ukraine. Anna Martynenko fled to Poland with her sons, in the first weeks of the war in Ukraine. “In our relationship, between Poland and Ukraine, there were many things that were not solved – for years,” he adds, with some weariness. But whoever enters power next week, displaced Ukrainian Martynenko believes – and hopes – that Poland’s support will not waver further. When Poles welcomed her last spring after she fled Ukraine, “I knew that everything is OK,” she said.

Persons: they’re, Poland’s, “, I’m, ”, Przemysław Chinek, –, Rob Picheta, Zelensky, Mateusz, Tomasz Piotr, Katarzyna, Anna Martynenko, Gianmarco Ercolani, Pew, Dan Kitwood, Sławomir Mentzen, TikTok, Martynenko, Filip Gajos, Mentzen, ” Chinek, “ Everybody, Dariusz Stola, ” Stola, “ There’s, Simon Oshinski, Volodymyr Zelensky, Rob Picheta “, Adam Zaleski’s, we’re, Adam Zaleski, Slovakia –, ” Zaleski, Zaleski, Justyna –, Rob Picheta Zaleski Organizations: Poland CNN, European Union, CNN, Confederation, Law, Justice, Ukraine, NATO, Pew Research Center, Twitter, “, ”, Polish Academy of Sciences, EU, United Nations General Assembly, PiS Locations: Lublin, Kostrogaj, Poland, wardrobes, European, Lublin’s, Russia, Ukraine, “, Ukraine’s, Moscow, Kyiv, Warsaw, Lodz, “ Ukraine, Soviet Union, Volhynia, Poland’s, Europe, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukrainian

☆ Google launches watermarks for AI-generated images
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —In an effort to help prevent the spread of misinformation, Google on Tuesday unveiled an invisible, permanent watermark on images that will identify them as computer-generated. The technology, called SynthID, embeds the watermark directly into images created by Imagen, one of Google’s latest text-to-image generators. In recent months, an AI-generated image of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket went viral and AI-generated images of former President Donald Trump getting arrested were widely shared before he was indicted. With the announcement of SynthID, Google joins a growing number of startups and Big Tech companies that are trying to find solutions. The tech company also announced that every AI-generated image created by Google will carry a markup in the original file to “give context” if the image is found on another website or platform.

Persons: Imagen, ”, Google’s, Pope Francis, Donald Trump, Vera Jourova, –, “, Dall, ChatGPT Organizations: New, New York CNN, Google, Vertex, European Commission, Meta, Microsoft, Big Tech, Adobe Locations: New York, EU

☆ Wingstop says its UK target market is Gen Zers who like boxing and 'Love Island.' Here's how the chicken brand is using TikTok, rappers, and customization to pull in younger diners.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Wingstop UK is using TikTok, social-media influencers, and rappers to attract Gen Z diners. Wingstop UK has collaborated with brands including including Xbox, Gymshark, and Tinder. Grogan said that Wingstop UK did engage in some paid partnerships, but focused on "curating authentic experiences." Lemon Pepper opened the first Wingstop UK restaurant near London's bustling Leicester Square in 2018. Lemon Pepper HoldingsIn 2022, the chain sold more than 17.5 million wings, Lemon Pepper says.

Persons: It's, –, Zers, Tom Grogan, cofounders, Lemon Pepper, TikTok, Yung, Michael Dapaah, Lady Leisha, M, Cat Burns, Grogan, Wingstop, – Grogan, Herman Sahota, Saul Lewin –, Rick Ross, Saul Lewin, Lemon, We're, Gen, it's Organizations: Wingstop, Service, Wingstop's, Sports, Lemon Pepper Holdings, Xbox, JD Sports, Yung Filly, YouTube, KFC, Leicester Square, Hickory, Wings, Lemon Pepper, Sunday Times Locations: Wall, Silicon, Covent, Leicester, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow

☆ As China's intelligence capabilities grow, spying becomes an increasing flashpoint in ties with US
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

They underscore how intelligence gathering – an activity meant to go on without detection, out of the public eye – is becoming an increasingly prominent flashpoint in the US-China relationship. That pushes intelligence gathering itself to become “another factor that is complicating US-China relations,” he said. That’s especially the case, experts say, as China continues to expand its own intelligence gathering capabilities – catching up in an area where the US has traditionally had an edge. Other arms of the Communist Party apparatus also play a role in activities beyond conventional intelligence gathering, experts say. Heightened concern and awareness about Chinese intelligence gathering – or the potential for it – has exploded in the US in recent years.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Bill Burns, ”, Lyle Morris, Christopher Johnson, “, there’s, they’ve, Johnson, Xi Jinping, That’s, Xuezhi Guo, Guo, Xi, Hector Retamal, –, TikTok –, Edward Snowden, ’, Shou Zi Chew, Jabin, John Delury, John T, Downey, Delury Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, US, White House, CIA, CNN, Asia Society, Center for, Central Intelligence Agency, China, Group, U.S . Navy, AP, Guilford College, People’s Liberation Army, Ministry of State Security, Communist Party, Federal Bureau of Intelligence, The New York Times, Huawei, TikTok, Tiktok, US Justice Department, China Initiative, Center for Strategic, International Studies, National Security Agency, US Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, China ”, Energy, Commerce, Capitol, Washington Post, Subversion Locations: Hong Kong, United States, China, Beijing, American, Cuba, US, Center for China, South, Russia, AFP, Washington, USA, South China, Washington , DC

June 14 (Reuters) - Hundreds of social media moderators in Germany – who remove harmful content from platforms such as Facebook and TikTok – are calling on lawmakers to improve their working conditions, citing tough targets and mental health issues. Meta has faced mounting pressure over the working conditions of content moderators keeping its platform safe. In 2020, the firm paid a $52 million settlement to American content moderators suffering long-term mental health. "Without us, social media companies would collapse overnight," reads the petition, seen by Reuters. "Social media can never be safe until our own workplaces are safe and fair."

Persons: Germany –, Cengiz Haksöz, Haksöz, Meta, Martin Coulter, David Gregorio Our Organizations: Facebook, TELUS International, Digital, TELUS, Social, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Germany

☆ A TikToker who posts about having a regular 9-to-5 job went viral on social media because users think his work life is 'depressing'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A TikToker posted his daily routine working a nine-to-five job and has gone viral on social media. The video sparked a debate amongst users about whether an office job is boring or peaceful. It has now received 76 million views on Twitter and over 500,000 likes on TikTok. The video has taken off on Twitter after one user commented: "This video was so depressing that I started tearing up watching it." But some are berating the negative comments saying young people are detached from reality if they think a stable nine-to-five job is something to fear.

Persons: —, Connor, –, 501c3, there's Organizations: Twitter, Service

☆ How tech companies are working to help detect AI-generated images
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In recent months, an AI-generated image of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket went viral and AI-generated images of former President Donald Trump getting arrested were widely shared, shortly before he was indicted. Some lawmakers are now calling for tech companies to address the problem. Reality Defender and Hive Moderation are working on the former. Other tech companies like Google appear to be pursuing a playbook that pulls a bit from both approaches. “We need everybody to participate.”For now, however, tech companies continue to move forward with pushing more AI tools into the world.

Persons: Jeffrey McGregor, “ We’re, we’re, ”, McGregor, ” McGregor, Pope Francis, Donald Trump, Vera Jourova, –, “, Dall, ChatGPT, ” Hany Farid, ” Farid, Tom Cruise deepfake, ” Ben Colman, Kevin Guo, ” Guo, —, Andy Parsons, Bing, Farid, ” Parsons Organizations: New, New York CNN, Microsoft, ” Tech, European, Google, Meta, Big Tech, Reality, University of California, CNN, Realty, “, Coalition, Adobe, CAI, BBC, Intel, Sony Locations: New York, EU, Berkeley

☆ Ubiquitous offers side hustle, paying users to watch TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Aya Elamroussi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —If you already spend hours scrolling through TikTok – let’s face it, who doesn’t? Influencer marketing agency Ubiquitous is looking to pay three people $100 per hour to go on a 10-hour TikTok watching session. To apply for the TikTok Watching job, subscribe to Ubiquitous’ YouTube channel and send a short blurb about why you’re the best fit for the hours-long marathon. The company is seeking people 18 and older who know how the platform works – particularly trends. After the watching session, participants will be asked to post their experience on any social media platform they choose and tag the company.

☆ Opinion: Banning TikTok isn’t just a bad idea. It’s a dangerous one
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Evan Greer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —The US government is racing ahead with proposals aimed at banning TikTok, the viral video platform used by more than 150 million Americans. Banning TikTok won’t make us safer from China’s surveillance operations. But banning TikTok isn’t just foolish and dangerous, it’s also unconstitutional. You do that by passing a strong national data privacy law that bans companies from collecting more data about us than they need to provide us with the service we’ve requested. Join us on Twitter and FacebookIt’s a national embarrassment that we have no basic data privacy law in the United States.

☆ I made $127,000 selling PowerPoint templates after my TikTok went viral. Here's how I turned views into sales in 6 months.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Kiera Fields | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Jakob Welle-Smogeli, a 21-year-old college junior whose PowerPoint videos went viral on TikTok. I started making TikToks about PowerPoint presentations from my bed. Six months later, I had 3.8 million TikTok followers on my faceless profile and have made over $150,000 from my brand. I started making cool PowerPoints from bed and recorded them for TikTok and Reels. Seeing my PowerPoint templates generate real income was amazingIt was mid-September 2022 when I officially launched my templates.

☆ I'm a Gen Zer who went undercover for 3 weeks as a Gen Xer on TikTok – a lot of their jokes went over my head
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Gen Z keeps it painfully realA lot of the time, Gen Z is the butt of its own jokes. One "Gen X Thought of the Day" installment, receiving more than three million views, says that Gen X adults "refuse to grow up" because they were forced to be independent at a very young age. The sentiment is something Gen Z could understand possibly more than Gen Xers realize. Access to the internet and widespread information pushed many to mature faster as Gen Z learned at a quicker rate than others. Now, at the end of my time on Gen X TikTok, I've learned a lot more about the generation that raised me and my millennial siblings.

☆ The city without TikTok offers a window to America's potential future As Americans face a future without TikTok, Hong Kong offers a glimpse into that reality
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Hong Kong CNN —Across the United States, more than 150 million people are being faced with the possibility of a new reality: life without TikTok. In Hong Kong, there’s no need to imagine that reality: TikTok discontinued its services there in 2020. Lost opportunitiesTikTok announced its exit from Hong Kong in July 2020, a week after China imposed a controversial national security law in the city. At the time, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts had yet to arrive in Hong Kong. And while they occasionally wonder what’s happening on TikTok outside Hong Kong, the allure of it is lost when nobody else around them uses it either.

☆ TikTok's CEO got coached by ex-Obama and Disney advisers for a month before his viral Congress hearing, which saw his followers on the app increase 16,000%
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok hired former Obama and Disney advisers to coach its CEO before his congressional hearing, per WSJ. Shou Zi Chew has seen his follower count on TikTok rise from 18,700 to 3 million in 8 days. Chew was largely unknown before the hearing last Thursday, with just under 19,000 followers on the app, per Reuters. Two days before the hearing, Chew posted an informal introduction on the app – he was dressed in a hoodie and jeans – which has since amassed 4.7 million likes. A spokesperson for the app previously told Insider it believed the bans "have been based on misplaced fears and seemingly driven by wider geopolitics."

☆ NSA chief worries TikTok could censor videos for 'large population of listeners' as part of Chinese influence operations
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok’s collection of data and its control over the algorithm that serves user content are also concerning, Nakasone said. US officials have for years accused TikTok – and its Chinese parent firm ByteDance – of collecting data that could enable surveillance by the Chinese government. A TikTok spokesperson said that the company has been working with the US government to address national security concerns. We will continue to do our part to deliver a comprehensive national security plan for the American people,” Brooke Oberwetter from TikTok said in statement. “I characterize it much more as a loaded gun.”“I would not expect individualized targeting through [TikTok] to do malicious things,” Joyce said.

☆ TikTok CEO to testify before U.S. Congress over security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The news comes as the House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a vote next month on a bill aimed at blocking the use of TikTok in the United States over national security concerns. "ByteDance-owned TikTok has knowingly allowed the ability for the Chinese Communist Party to access American user data," McMorris Rodgers said, adding that Americans deserve to know how these actions impact their privacy and data security. TikTok said on Friday "calls for total bans of TikTok take a piecemeal approach to national security and a piecemeal approach to broad industry issues like data security, privacy, and online harms". The U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020 ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that U.S. user data could be passed onto China’s government. CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for more than two years aiming to reach a national security agreement to protect the data of U.S. TikTok users.

☆ Why experts worry TikTok could add to mental health crisis among US teens
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

TikTok is far from the only social platform to be scrutinized by lawmakers and mental health experts for its impact on teens. That’s problematic because the more time a teen spends on social media, the more likely he or she is to be depressed. Psychologists say as smartphones and social media grew around 2012, so did the rate of depression among teens. But teens say it’s not the most egregious videos that keep them engaged. The majority of teens say social media can be a space for connection and creativity, according to Pew Research.

So I dove headfirst into the credit card tag on TikTok and found the app's most popular "hacks" for credit card experts and novices. Here's a look at some of the best and worst credit card hacks on TikTok right now. Credit utilization ratio refers to the amount of debt you have in relation to your income (debt/income = credit utilization ratio). How it worksIf you search "credit card hack" on TikTok you're sure to find dozens of posts on the 15/3 method. "While it won't double your payment history, the 15/3 credit payment hack can actually help you reduce the reported amount on your credit card."

☆ "Unholy:" Sam Smith's new song is a TikTok hit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Zoe Sottile | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —British singer-songwriter Sam Smith’s newest collab with Kim Petras, entitled “Unholy,” has taken over TikTok. “Unholy” is one of several songs that have achieved viral fame on TikTok – some even before the songs have actually been released. Petras and Smith first teased the track in August, posting a TikTok in which they dance alongside Petras to the lyrics. “At the body shop / Doing something unholy.”The video received over 29 million views and hundreds of thousands of users quickly created “Unholy” videos of their own. “I’ve never had so much fun making a record, so I hope you can all get weird and UNHOLY to it.”

Search resuls for: "TikTok –"

24 mentions found