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☆ A country just banned TikTok because it disrupts 'social harmony' and 'family structure'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Authorities last week tightened control over all social media with new rules for users. AdvertisementThe government of Nepal banned TikTok over what it says it its damaging effect on Nepalese society. Content shared on the app was responsible for disturbing "social harmony, family structure and family relations," said Rekha Sharma, Nepal's minister for communications and information technology. The crackdown on TikTok in Nepal follows a series of tight controls on other social media platforms announced last week, per The Kathmandu Post. Social media companies must now register with the government, open an office, and pay taxes in Nepal.

Persons: —, Rekha Sharma, Sharma, Bytedance, TikTok Organizations: Authorities, Service, Social, New York Times, Business Locations: Nepal, India, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, Taiwan, Kathmandu

CNN —The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found. Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. While tech and social media companies have shut down thousands of accounts targeting these victims, they’re outpaced by a slew of new accounts emerging virtually every day. As part of a mission “to manipulate public perceptions of [China], the Group uses its misattributed social media accounts to threaten, harass and intimidate specific victims,” the complaint states. In the past, the Spamouflage network mostly focused on issues domestically relevant to China.

Persons: –, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mike Gallagher, Chen Pokong, ”, Chen, “, Spamouflage’s, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Jiayang, Darren Linvill, hasn’t, Fan, Communist Party playbook, Mandiant, Nancy Pelosi, ” Ben Nimmo, George Floyd’s, Ben Nimmo, Lindsay Gorman, Gorman, ” Linvill, Linvill, Spamouflage, Jiajun Qiu, Qiu, ” Qiu Organizations: CNN, US State Department, FBI, Communist Party, Meta, Google, ”, CCP, US Department of Justice, Department, DOJ, China’s Ministry of Public Security, Group, New Yorker, telltale, Media, Clemson University, Capitol, Department of Homeland Security, Marshall Fund’s Alliance, Securing Democracy, YouTube Locations: United States, Beijing, San Francisco, China “, New York, China, New York City, America, Washington, Hong Kong, US, Texas, Virginia, Manassas , Virginia

☆ Scientists create chimeric monkey with two sets of DNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Scientists based in China have created a monkey chimera with two sets of DNA, experimental work they say could ultimately benefit medical research and the conservation of endangered species. It’s the world’s first live birth of a primate chimera created with stem cells, the researchers said. Scientists have created mouse embryos that are part human, and in 2021, scientists reported that they had grown human-monkey chimeric embryos. In September, researchers reported that they had grown kidneys containing mostly human cells inside pig embryos. Then they selected a subset of cells to inject into genetically distinct 4- to 5-day-old embryos from the same monkey species.

Persons: —, ”, Miguel Esteban, chimeras, Zhen Liu, Liu, Jun Wu, hadn’t, Wu wasn’t, Jacob Hanna, ” Hanna, Penny Hawkins, “ Organizations: CNN —, Cell, Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Weizmann Institute of Science, Royal Society for, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Covid Locations: China, Health, Research Hangzhou, Israel, United States

☆ China warms to U.S. chipmaker Micron, as tensions with Washington ease
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The company logo is seen on the Micron Technology Inc. offices in Shanghai, China May 25, 2023. "We welcome Micron Technology to continue to take root in the Chinese market and achieve better development under the premise of complying with Chinese laws and regulations," Wang added. The detente comes just months after China's cyberspace regulator said Micron had failed a network security review and barred Chinese operators of key infrastructure from buying from the largest U.S. memory chipmaker. China's move against Micron was widely seen as retaliation for Washington's efforts to restrict Beijing's access to key technology. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Sonali Paul and Lincoln FeastOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, Wang Wentao, Sanjay Mehrotra, Wang, China's, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Sonali Paul, Lincoln Organizations: Micron Technology Inc, REUTERS, Rights, Micron Technology, Commerce, Micron, Economic Cooperation, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, Beijing, Washington, Asia, San Francisco

In London, girls in a playground are told they are "stinking Jews" and should stay off the slide. In China, posts likening Jews to parasites, vampires or snakes proliferate on social media, attracting thousands of "likes". She was describing what was in the minds of those behind antisemitic incidents. The most chilling antisemitic incident globally was the storming of an airport in Russia's Dagestan region on Sunday by an enraged crowd looking for Jews to harm after a flight arrived from Tel Aviv. Rabbi Alexander Boroda, president of Russia's Federation of Jewish Communities, said in response that anti-Israeli sentiment had morphed into open aggression towards Russian Jews.

Persons: Anna Gordon, Anthony Adler, Adler, Nonna Mayer, France's, Israel, Mayer, Rabbi Alexander Boroda, Shneor Segal, Akiva Carr, Layli Foroudi, Julia Harte, Chen Lin, Maytaal Angel, Andrew Osborn, Carien du Plessis, Steven Grattan, Eliana, Wa Lone, Thomas Escritt, Stephanie Van Den Berg, Estelle Shirbon, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Russia's Federation of Jewish, Cornell University, Center for Jewish, Thomson Locations: Golders Green, London, Britain, Gaza, Los Angeles, China, Israel, United States, France, Germany, South Africa, Russia's Dagestan, Tel Aviv, Azerbaijan, Caucasus, Buenos Aires, New York, Johannesburg, Western Europe, Dagestan, Wa

☆ Insiders question WPP CEO Mark Read's bounceback plan after chaotic period of mergers, account losses, and a stock market slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"OMD and Publicis are winning all the meaningful pitches," said a former WPP agency executive, referring to competitors Omnicom and Publicis Groupe. Further, GroupM is just one of the many parts of WPP's business that Read needs to fix. Insiders describe a whirlwind of change but confusion about the bigger visionA current WPP agency executive said they were frustrated by what they described as a vacuum of information about the bigger strategy for WPP. Getty Images"It feels like something bigger has to happen now," said a current WPP agency executive. The ongoing pitch for Volkswagen's $4 billion global media business underscores the tremendous amount of resources needed to win the proposal, and the huge prize at stake.

Persons: Christian Juhl, San, GroupM, Publicis, Kirk McDonald, McDonald didn't, Ogilvy, it's, Thomas Singlehurst, Juhl, Mark Read's, It's, Read, Martin Sorrell, AKQA, Sard, Wunderman Thompson, J.Walter Thompson, Joanne Wilson, Andrew Scott, Roberto Quarta, Angela Ahrendts, Craig Barritt, —, haven't, Clark, Arthur Sadoun, WPP's Read, Michael Farmer Organizations: WPP, Publicis, L'Oreal, Omnicom Media Group, Pfizer, North, GroupM, Verizon, Discovery, Adobe, Citigroup, Shanghai, reined, AKQA Group, Finsbury Glover, Partners, Young, Rubicam, London Stock Exchange, Brexit, Getty, Burberry, Apple, The New School Industry, VW, Groupe, Epsilon Locations: San Francisco, China, EssenceMediaCom, Kansas, Kansas City, New York, Mayfair , London, New York City

☆ China puts $137 bln Band-Aid on local debt wounds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Chan Ka Sing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The funds are to be funnelled to cash-strapped local governments struggling under 92 trillion yuan ($12.6 trillion) of debt. The last time was for a 1 trillion yuan special bond issuance in 2020 to combat the economic fallout from Covid-19. All these plans stem from the ruling Politburo in July calling on regulators to formulate “a basket of measures” to resolve risks stemming from local governments’ debt. CONTEXT NEWSChina’s top legislature approved a plan on Oct. 24 to sell 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) of sovereign bonds. Separately, the Chinese legislature passed a bill to allow local governments to frontload part of their 2024 bond quotas.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi Jinping’s, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: of, People, REUTERS Acquire, Reuters, Monetary, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, HONG KONG, Covid

☆ Opinion | A Brief History of a Problematic Appetizer
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Ian Urbina | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In some parts of the world, frequent illegal incursions by Chinese ships into other nations’ waters are heightening military tensions. A recent investigation that my team and I conducted revealed a worrying range of human rights and environmental crimes tied to Chinese ships and processing plants. Chinese ships have also fished in North Korean waters, breaking U.N. sanctions, and engaged in violence, wage theft, forced labor, severe neglect of deckhands and human trafficking. Like the boats that supply them, Chinese processing plants rely on forced labor, from North Korea and from Uyghur and other Muslim minorities in China. But it has also stretched the distance between producers, movers and consumers, making it harder to know whether what you’re consuming is tainted by forced labor or environmental crimes.

Persons: Ruggiero Seafood, Ruggiero Organizations: Argentine, Sysco, Walmart Locations: China, United States, North Korea, U.S

A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday in a case filed by TikTok and five Montana content creators who want the court to block the state’s ban on the video sharing app before it takes effect Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy of Missoula is not expected to rule immediately on the request for a preliminary injunction. Content creators say the ban violates free speech rights and could cause economic harm for their businesses. Chinese law allows the government to order companies to help it gather intelligence. Meanwhile, 18 attorneys generals from mostly Republican-led states are backing Montana and asking the judge to let the law be implemented.

Persons: TikTok, Donald Molloy, Montana, hasn’t, ByteDance, “, Montanans Organizations: U.S, District, U.S . State Department, Oracle, Montana Legislature, American Civil Liberties Union, Frontier Foundation, Republican Locations: Montana, Missoula, U.S, Beijing, China, . Montana

☆ China developer Kaisa tells court creditors will get less than 5% back if liquidated
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Signs the Kaisa Holdings Group are seen at the Shanghai Kaisa Financial Centre, in Shanghai, China, December 7, 2021. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China but maintains its own legal system. With $12 billion of offshore debt, Kaisa is China's largest issuer of offshore debt among developers after China Evergrande Group (3333.HK). It had 232.5 billion yuan ($31.91 billion) of total liabilities as of the end of June, including 37.6 billion yuan ($18.88 billion) of total borrowings. ($1 = 7.2872 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Kim CoghillOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Aly, Kaisa, James Wood, Linda Chan, Clare Jim, Kim Coghill Organizations: Kaisa Holdings, Shanghai Kaisa Financial, REUTERS, Kaisa, HK, Investment, Hong Kong High Court, China Evergrande, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hong Kong . Hong Kong

☆ Utah accuses TikTok of misleading users about safety, China connection in new lawsuit
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Utah is the latest state to file suit against TikTok, alleging the social media site misled its citizens about its relationship to its Chinese parent company and deceptively touted its platform as safe. TikTok has already faced similar lawsuits from Arkansas and Indiana, while Montana has chosen to ban the app altogether, a move that TikTok and creators have challenged. "Social media companies must be held responsible for the harms they are causing," Cox said in a statement. The other elements of the suit touch on concerns that many people have about social media platforms in general, not just TikTok. Utah has been particularly active in seeking to protect its citizens from what it sees as the harmful effects of social media.

Persons: Spencer Cox, Joe Biden, George E, TikTok, Cox, Sean Reyes Organizations: Utah Gov, U.S, Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical, TikTok, . Utah Gov, Social, CNBC, YouTube Locations: Utah, Salt Lake City , Utah, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, Washington, China, harm's

That's even as he's accused Beijing of pushing TikTok as “digital fentanyl” to Americans and wants the app banned entirely. A spokeswoman for Ramaswamy's campaign defended both the decision to join TikTok and Ramaswamy's criticisms that the app is dangerous. While he is trying to make himself attractive to younger voters, Ramaswamy has promoted policy ideas that would directly target them. It creates short clips criticizing and mocking Republicans and recycles Biden clips originally posted on other social media networks such as Instagram. “I’m hopeful that as more younger conservative candidates run for office, they’ll embrace social media more and be more comfortable with it," she said.

Persons: TikTok, Vivek Ramaswamy, he's, ” Ramaswamy, ”, Tricia McLaughlin, “, Ramaswamy, —, ByteDance, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Biden’s, recycles Biden, Ryan Calo, Calo, ” Calo, Trump, John Brabender, ” Brabender, Brabender, Clarkson Lawson, Lawson, ” Erica Choinka, Choinka, we’ve, we’re, ” ___ Kinnard, Gomez Licon, Michelle L, Price, Linley Sanders Organizations: U.S, Washington, ByteDance Ltd, Authorities, Democratic National Committee, University of Washington, GOP, Trump, Las, Associated Press Locations: China, Beijing, U.S, France, Iraq, Las Vegas, Florida, Columbia , South Carolina, Miami, New York, Washington

☆ Some foreign finance execs in China spending nearly a third of their working time studying 'Xi Thought,' report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The study of 'Xi Jinpeng Thought' in state-owned Chinese companies has been mandated. But now employees of foreign firms are being pulled into the 'study sessions' as well. First published in 2017, Xi Jinping thought lays out 14 principles by which China will prosper. China's President Xi Jinping Lintao ZhangIn addition to the pressure to study of Xi's doctrine, new laws have limited international banks' abilities to operate as normal in China. "Foreigners and foreign organisations in mainland China shall comply with Chinese law and must not endanger China's national security, harm the societal public interest, or undermine societal public order,'" the law states, per The FT.

Persons: Franklin Templeton, Xi, Xi Jinping, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Xi Jinping Lintao Zhang Organizations: CCP, Service, Blackrock, Bloomberg, BlackRock, Marxist, Deloitte Locations: Wall, Silicon, China

☆ How to stop Meta from using some of your personal data to train generative AI models
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-30 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In a related blog post on how it uses data for generative AI, Meta says it collects public information on the web in addition to licensing data from other providers. Blog posts, for example, can include personal information, such as someone's name and contact information, Meta said. CNBC contacted Meta for information about whether that first-party information will continue to be used in training its generative AI models. Here's how you can delete some of your Facebook data used for training generative AI models:Go to the "Generative AI Data Subject Rights" form on Meta's privacy policy page about generative AI. The first option lets people access, download, or correct any of their personal information gleaned from third-party sources that's used to train generative AI models.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, hasn't, that's, they're Organizations: Facebook, Meta, CNBC, Microsoft Locations: Canada, Switzerland

☆ Meta pins pro-China influence campaign on Chinese law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK (Reuters) -Facebook parent company Meta said on Tuesday it had uncovered links between people associated with Chinese law enforcement and a long-running but largely ineffectual operation to positively influence people on social media about China. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. China’s foreign ministry said it was not aware of the findings, but added that individuals and institutions have often launched campaigns against China on social media platforms. Truly identify what lies and rumours are, what is the truth, and effectively eliminate false information related to China,” foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said when asked about the matter at a news briefing on Wednesday. The “Spamouflage” network first started out posting on large platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, now called X.

Persons: Meta, Yves Herman, ”, Wang Wenbin, Ben Nimmo, Nimmo Organizations: YORK, Facebook, REUTERS, Meta, YouTube, Twitter, Global, Intelligence Locations: China, Brussels, Belgium, United States, Beijing, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan

☆ Meta pins 'Spamouflage' influence campaign on Chinese law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Katie Paul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The logo of Meta Platforms' business group is seen in Brussels, Belgium December 6, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Facebook parent company Meta (META.O) said on Tuesday it had uncovered links between people associated with Chinese law enforcement and the long-running but largely ineffectual pro-China "Spamouflage" influence operation. The "Spamouflage" network has engaged in spurts of activity over the last several years pushing positive narratives about China and negative commentary about the United States, Western foreign policies and critics of the Chinese government. With the latest activity detected, Meta executives said they believed that "Spamouflage" had become the largest known cross-platform influence operation to date, with a presence on at least 50 services. The "Spamouflage" network first started out posting on large platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, now called X.

Persons: Yves Herman, Meta, Ben Nimmo, Nimmo, Katie Paul, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Facebook, Meta, YouTube, Twitter, Global, Intelligence, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, China, United States, Beijing, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan

☆ Meta says it has disrupted a massive disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta on Tuesday said it had disrupted a disinformation campaign linked to Chinese law enforcement that the social media company described as the "largest known cross-platform covert influence operation in the world." Meta began looking for signs of a Chinese influence operation on its own platforms after reports in 2022 highlighted how a disinformation campaign linked to the Chinese government targeted a human rights nongovernmental organization. Meta researchers were able to link this latest disinformation network to a prior influence campaign in 2019, code named Spamouflage. Meta also identified and disrupted other operations and published a more detailed analysis of a Russian disinformation campaign it identified shortly after the beginning of the 2022 war in Ukraine. But this disinformation network, while prolific, was not effective, Meta cybersecurity executives said on a briefing call.

Persons: Meta, Ben Nimmo, CNBC's Eamon Javers Organizations: Meta, Facebook Locations: China, Xinjiang, Ukraine, Cambridge, Bangladesh, Brazil, Vietnam

☆ US companies in China struggle with raids, slow deal approvals, anti-espionage law
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo delivers her speech at a reception with U.S. Industry and Chinese Government Officials hosted by U.S. Ambassador to China Nick Burns, in Beijing, China, August 28, 2023. Below are details on some of the bigger hurdles for doing business in China in recent years. Counterespionage law:Chinese lawmakers passed a wide-ranging update to Beijing's anti-espionage legislation in April, banning the transfer of any information related to national security and broadening the definition of spying. The law does not define what falls under China's national security or interests.

Persons: Gina Raimondo, China Nick Burns, Andy Wong, Mintz, Raimondo, Chris Sanders, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: . Commerce, . Industry, Government, U.S, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Bain, Capvision Partners, Beijing Municipal Bureau, Statistics, China's, Intel Corp, chipmaker Semiconductor, DuPont De Nemours Inc, Rogers Corp, Xinhua, chipmaker Micron Technology, Beijing, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Shanghai, United States

☆ Meta’s ‘Biggest Single Takedown’ Removes Chinese Influence Campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Sheera Frenkel | More About Sheera Frenkel | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On Feb. 27, an article claiming that the United States was behind the bombing of the Nord Stream underwater pipelines in the Baltic Sea was published on the Substack and Blogspot blogging platforms. The posts were part of a Chinese influence campaign that stands out as the largest such operation to date, researchers at Meta said in a report on Tuesday. The effort, which the company said had started with Chinese law enforcement and was discovered in 2019, was aimed at advancing China’s interests and discrediting its adversaries, such as the United States, Meta said. In total, 7,704 Facebook accounts, 954 Facebook pages, 15 Facebook groups and 15 Instagram accounts tied to the Chinese campaign were removed by Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Hundreds of other accounts on TikTok, X, LiveJournal and Blogspot also participated in the campaign, which researchers named Spamouflage, for the frequent posting of spamlike messages, according to Meta’s report.

Persons: —, Meta, Blogspot Organizations: Facebook, Meta Locations: United States, Baltic, Turkish, WhatsApp

☆ China bill aims to make preschool more accessible amid flagging birth rate
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The draft Preschool Education Law includes measures to curb excessive profit-seeking by preschool providers, the state-backed China news service reported. Children applying for preschool places should not be subject "to any form of examination or testing except for necessary physical examinations," the official Xinhua news agency reported. The draft law comes as China's fertility rate is estimated to have dropped to a record low of 1.09 in 2022, one of the world's lowest alongside South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. Concerned about its rapidly ageing population, Beijing is urgently trying an array of measures to lift the birth rate, including financial incentives and improved childcare facilities. The draft preschool law will now be reviewed by the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

Persons: Huai Jinpeng, Farah Master, Conor Humphries Organizations: Xinhua, of, South, National, Thomson Locations: Xujiashan, Haitang, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, China, HONG KONG, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing

Xinhua/Shutterstock‘Absolutely safe’As heavy rains moved toward the region in late July, China’s top flood control officials met to hash out their response plan. The flood was caused by flood water discharge, not by heavy rainfall.”CNN has reached out to the Zhuozhou and Bazhou governments for comment. Rescuers use rubber boats to transfer Zhuozhou residents trapped by flood waters after days of downpours brought by Typhoon Doksuri on August 2. In the recent rains, at least three upstream reservoirs released flood waters into rivers flowing into Baiyingdian from the west and the south, according to state media. Many countries have systems that involve discharging pent up flood waters into otherwise dry land after major storms.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Xi’s, ”, It’s, Xiong’an, Jade Gao, Ni Yuefeng, downpours, Typhoon Doksuri, Zhai Jujia, Li Guoying, Hongzhang Xu, Xiao, Li Na, Zhu Xudong, it’s, Xiong’an –, Xu, Baiyangdian Lake, Kevin Frayer, “, Meili Feng, Simon Song, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Xu Kuangdi, Yi Haifei, Andrew Stokols Organizations: CNN, Xinhua, Getty, Censors, China News Service, China’s, Water, Australian National University, Authorities, China’s Ministry of Water Resources, Hebei Provincial Department of Water Resources, Geographical Sciences, University of Nottingham, Shanghai’s Pudong New, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urban Computing Center Locations: Beijing, China, Hebei, Xiong’an’s, Xiong'an, Zhuozhou, AFP, Bazhou, Xiong’an, Tianjin, ”, Xinhua, Baiyingdian, Baiyangdian, Mississippi, University of Nottingham Ningbo, “, Hebei province, Shenzhen, Shanghai’s Pudong, Shanghai

☆ NYC bans TikTok on government devices
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

New York City banned TikTok on government-owned devices on Wednesday, pointing to security concerns that have made the app a target of bipartisan scrutiny across the country. Congress already voted to ban TikTok on federal devices last year and several states have taken similar steps. City agencies have 30 days to remove the app from government-owned devices. Still, broader action against TikTok beyond government-owned devices has remained elusive. TikTok did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the NYC ban.

Persons: Eric Adams, TikTok Organizations: U.S . Conference, Mayors, Washington , D.C, New York City, NYC City Hall, WNBC, ., CNBC, YouTube Locations: New York, Washington ,, China

☆ Alibaba's cloud unit brings Meta's AI model Llama to its clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] 3D printed clouds and figurines are seen in front of the Alibaba Cloud service logo in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. “Today, Alibaba Cloud has launched the first training and deployment solution for the entire Llama2 series in China, welcoming all developers to create customised large models on Alibaba Cloud,” Alibaba Cloud said in a statement on Tuesday published on its WeChat account. The U.S. has been actively looking to restrict Chinese companies' access to many U.S.-developed technologies related to AI, particularly in the area of AI semiconductors. Alibaba Cloud did not respond to a request for comment. Alibaba and its peers such as Tencent Holdings (0700.HK) have been aggressively developing their own AI models in recent months.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Meta, Llama2, Alibaba, Google's Bard, Josh Ye, Muralikumar Organizations: REUTERS, OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, “, Meta, Tencent Holdings, HK, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, HK, China, U.S, Beijing

Risk factors usually flag uncertainties in how Chinese laws are interpreted and enforced as well as the government's "substantial oversight and influence" over businesses. Chinese regulators want those boilerplate disclosures dropped; if not, offshore listing applications could be denied approval. Trying to appease both American and Chinese regulators will get tougher. On Friday, Chinese regulators held a rare meeting with KKR (KKR.N), Blackstone (BX.N), Carlyle (CG.O) and others to ensure they can continue to invest in the country. China's new offshore listing rules came into effect on March 31.

Persons: Didi Global, underwriters Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Carlyle, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Global, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, underwriters, JPMorgan, KKR, Blackstone, Bloomberg, Communist Party, China Securities Regulatory Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Beijing, Hong Kong, United States, New York, China

The move, which not been reported before, is the latest in tightening scrutiny of Chinese companies' offshore listings, and comes at a time when Beijing is stepping up controls over cross-border transfer of sensitive information. The Chinese law firms acting as IPO advisors have been asked to drop such boilerplate risk disclosures, said one of the people, who declined to be identified as the discussions were confidential. China's new offshore listing rules that came into effect on March 31 forbid any comments in the listing documents that "misrepresent or disparage laws and policies, business environment and judicial situation" of China. Representatives from the CSRC's International Cooperation Department, more than 10 Chinese law firms and other government and industry bodies attended the July 20th meeting, according to one of the people. Large domestic law firms Fangda Partners, Han Kun Law Offices，and Zhong Lun Law Firm were among the attendees, said two of the sources.

Persons: prospectuses, CSRC, Han, Zhong, Han Kun, Zhong Lun, Julie Zhu, Kane Wu, Selena Li, Sumeet Chatterjee, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: China Securities Regulatory Commission, CSRC's International Cooperation Department, Fangda Partners, Zhong Lun Law, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, United States, The China

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