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☆ Brendan Carr wrote the FCC chapter in ‘Project 2025.’ Now he’s Trump’s pick for the agency
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Brian Stelter | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, wasted no time in stating his priorities on Sunday night. Carr is now the senior Republican at the agency, which meant he was widely expected to get the chairman appointment. As chairman, Carr may be able to steer generous federal subsidies to Starlink. In his Project 2025 chapter, Carr laid out an agenda for the federal agency under a future Trump administration. The FCC chairman during Trump’s first term in office, Ajit Pai, had a very different set of priorities.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Brendan Carr, Carr, ” Carr, Elon Musk, ”, Trump, NewsGuard, hasn’t, “ Carr, Gigi Sohn, Tom Wheeler, Trump’s, Ajit Pai, Pai, Jessica Rosenworcel, can’t Organizations: New, New York CNN, Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Democrats, Republican, Politico, Elon, Facebook, Twitter, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Trump, Communications, Free Press, Democratic, Democrat Locations: New York, Big Tech

☆ Sealed TikTok court documents show time limit tool effectively did nothing to reduce teen usage — NPR
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-11 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —A screen-time limit tool on TikTok doesn’t work in limiting teen usage, the company’s own analysis reportedly found, according to in unredacted documents accidentally revealed as part of a major lawsuit. One issue revolves around TikTok’s effects on teenagers scrolling on the app for several hours, which could be harmful to their mental health. Following public scrutiny about the app’s effects on vulnerable people, TikTok released time management tools for users under 18 years old. Friday’s report from NPR and KPR came after the Kentucky Attorney General’s office accidentally filed unredacted versions of its legal filing against TikTok. We provide robust safeguards, proactively remove suspected underage users, and have voluntarily launched safety features.”

Persons: ”, TikTok, “, KPR, Alex Haurek, “ We’re Organizations: New, New York CNN, Kentucky Public, NPR, CNN, TikTok, Kentucky Attorney Locations: New York

☆ TikTok sued by 14 states over alleged harms to children’s mental health
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country filed lawsuits on Tuesday against TikTok, alleging that the platform has “addicted” young people and harmed their mental health. And last month, 42 state attorneys general called on US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to require labels on social media apps warning of their potential harm to young users. It also alleges that TikTok “challenges,” viral trends where users try to replicate videos created by others, can encourage dangerous behavior among young users. TikTok previously cooperated with New York authorities to remove subway surfing content, the New York Times reported in January. The lawsuit seeks financial penalties against TikTok, including a requirement that the platform repay any profits it received from ads directed to New York teens or pre-teens.

Persons: TikTok, Letitia James, Rob Bonta, Vivek Murthy, ”, Alex Haurek, “ We’re, ” TikTok, “, James, “ TikTok, James ’, ” James ’, CNN’s Matt Egan Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York, US Justice Department, Harvard, New York Times, US, ”, TikTok Locations: New York, California, United States, New, Brooklyn

Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals sounded unconvinced Monday that the TikTok “sale or ban” law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was unconstitutional. TikTok and ByteDance have since condemned the practice and said that three employees involved were terminated, with an additional employee resigning. Pincus also said that the data TikTok collects from American users is anonymized and is comparable to other Chinese companies, like major e-commerce platforms. TikTok creators and users in the U.S. have responded overwhelmingly negatively to the proposed ban. Trump then expressed support for TikTok following Biden’s passage of the national security package that included the provision to ban TikTok.

Persons: Joe Biden, TikTok, ”, Andrew Pincus, “, it’s, Pincus, Pincus didn’t, Judge Neomi Rao, ” Rao, Biden, Kamala Harris, Kamala, Donald Trump’s, TAYLOR SWIFT, ” Trump, Trump Organizations: Circuit U.S, Chinese Communist Party, Oracle, Forbes, Palestine Information Office, ByteDance, Justice Department, “ Biden Locations: U.S, Texas, Oracle’s U.S, China, Palestine, Tibet

☆ TikTok says it's not spreading Chinese propaganda. The U.S. says there's a real risk. What's the truth?
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Is TikTok trying to secretly influence Americans at the behest of the Chinese government? And an analysis of the ownership structure of TikTok parent company ByteDance, obtained by NBC News, argues that the company is deeply entangled with some of China’s major government propaganda organs. The most recent one, published last month, found that TikTok suppresses anti-China content compared to YouTube and other social media platforms. In recent years, according to media reports, Chinese government entities have increasingly taken golden shares in technology companies. “This report establishes that TikTok algorithms actively suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while simultaneously boosting pro-China propaganda and promoting distracting, irrelevant content,” the researchers wrote.

Persons: —, TikTok’s, China —, ’, TikTok, ” Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, — Casey Blackburn, National Intelligence —, ”, ByteDance, Blackburn, Strider, ” Strider, Wu Shugang, “ Organizations: Congress, D.C, Justice Department, NBC News, Network, Research, Rutgers University, YouTube, Department, U.S ., Appeals, District of Columbia, Supreme, Strider Technologies, Communist Party of China, ” Democratic, U.S, of Economic Security, Emerging Technology, National Intelligence, TikTok, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Net Investment, Technology, Communist Party, China Central Radio, Television Station, Beijing State, Administration, Investment, China’s Ministry of Education Locations: United States, Washington, U.S, China, Tibet, TikTok, People’s Republic of China, Tiananmen, Hong Kong, ”, Xinjiang, Beijing

☆ US government sues TikTok for allegedly violating children’s privacy law
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The lawsuit accuses TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by allowing children to create accounts without their parents’ knowledge or consent. TikTok also collects and retains personal data from children, such as email addresses, phone numbers and location data, and fails to to comply with requests from parents to delete their children’s information, the suit alleges. The Justice Department claims that TikTok has continued to violate the law, as well as that 2019 court order. TikTok has also faced previous allegations that it failed to keep young users safe , and was fined in Europe for violating children’s privacy protections. The FTC began investigating potential violations of COPPA by TikTok earlier this year, sources told CNN at the time.

Persons: New York CNN — TikTok, TikTok, “ TikTok, Lina Khan, ”, Michael Hughes, “, TikTok “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, US Justice Department, US Federal Trade Commission, COPPA, The Justice Department, FTC, TikTok, CNN, Department, Federal Trade Commission Locations: New York, TikTok, California, United States, Europe

☆ Universal Music Artists Will Return to TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Ben Sisario | More About Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But the deal also comes amid wider uncertainty for TikTok as the app faces a possible ban or sale in the United States because of national security concerns over the app’s Chinese owner, ByteDance. Last month, President Biden signed a bill that would allow TikTok to continue to operate in the United States if it was sold in nine months, though the company is expected to challenge the law in court. Universal began to withdraw permission for its music from TikTok on Feb. 1, after an impasse in negotiations to renew its previous licensing agreement. At the time, Universal said that TikTok “attempted to bully us into accepting a deal worth less than the previous deal, far less than fair market value and not reflective of their exponential growth.”Millions of videos that included Universal music — including many artists’ own official music videos — were muted on the platform. TikTok said that by withdrawing its songs, Universal had “put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters.”TikTok and Universal have not commented on their negotiations since then.

Persons: Biden, TikTok, Universal, TikTok “, ’, “, ” TikTok, Swift, — Organizations: ByteDance, Universal Locations: United States, TikTok

☆ How TikTok Changed Us
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-19 | by ( Sapna Maheshwari | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In the coming days, Congress may advance a bill to ban TikTok or force its sale to an American company. A few schools have removed bathroom mirrors because so many students were leaving class to film TikTok videos there. For 14 percent of American adults, TikTok is a regular news source, up from 3 percent in 2020. People who don’t have traditional backgrounds in journalism, akin to bloggers for the TikTok era, aggregate and share information in snappy videos. Organizations including The New York Times are also making short-form videos in which reporters talk to the camera about their stories, the TikTok way.

Persons: who’ve, It’s, ”, Brooks Barnes, Natasha Singer, Becky Hughes, TikTok, Taylor, mocktails, you’ve Organizations: Sony, Hollywood, The New York Times Locations: American, United States, Hollywood

☆ ‘Manifesting’ Is a Modern Version of a Centuries-Old Idea - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Tara Isabella Burton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Reality is what you make it — at least according to those who believe in manifesting, the art and quasi-spiritual science of willing things into existence through the power of desire, attention and focus. Believe hard enough, a host of TikTok “manifesting” influencers insist, and the vibes of the universe will bring what you desire into existence. The idea of manifesting as it is understood today rose to popularity as part of a boom in online spiritualism and self-help philosophy that emerged during the pandemic. According to Google data, online searches for “manifesting” rose more than 600 percent during the first few months of the pandemic. But while the idea of manifesting may seem modern, the instinct to conflate spiritual forces, political and economic outcomes and our own personal desires is part of a longstanding American tradition that dates back much, much farther than the pandemic.

Organizations: Google Locations: American

☆ TikTok’s recent court victories show just how hard it might be to ban the app
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-02 | by ( Brian Fung | Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The lawsuit in Indiana sought court-ordered fines and restrictions on TikTok for allegedly violating state consumer protection laws. Both cases reflected concerns expressed by government officials at all levels in the United States about TikTok’s ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance. Calls for a TikTok ban in the US first arose during the Trump administration and have waxed and waned in the years since, but most attempts to ban the app have been challenged in court. What comes nextUltimately, the state-level efforts in Indiana and Montana failed for many reasons, Goldman said, and policymakers should take note of this. The Indiana decision is less likely to have a nationwide impact, Goldman added, simply due to the typical obscurity of state court rulings and how state laws differ from one jurisdiction to another.

Persons: TikTok, ” Eric Goldman, ’, Trump, Donald Molloy, Molloy, Patrick Toomey, “, ” Molloy, ”, Jennifer DeGroote, DeGroote, Goldman, Blake Reid, Reid Organizations: CNN, TikTok, Santa Clara University, American Civil Liberties, Security, University of Colorado Locations: Indiana, Montana, United States, China

☆ Judge Halts TikTok Ban in Montana
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Sapna Maheshwari | More About Sapna Maheshwari | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A federal judge in Montana on Thursday blocked a statewide ban of TikTok from taking effect next year, at least temporarily preventing the nation’s first such prohibition on the popular video app. The judge, Donald W. Molloy, said Montana could act as a leader in protecting its residents from harm but must “act within the constitutional legal context.” He said a ban of TikTok “limits constitutionally protected First Amendment speech” and granted a preliminary injunction to stop the ban. TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has been locked in a legal battle with Montana since state lawmakers passed a bill banning the app in April. Lawmakers said the ban would protect residents’ data from the Chinese government, significantly escalating a national push to bar TikTok from government-owned devices. The Biden administration has been weighing a proposal from TikTok that the company says would address national security concerns.

Persons: Donald W, Molloy, ”, TikTok, Lawmakers, Biden Organizations: Big Tech Locations: Montana, Beijing

CNN —Dozens of young Americans have posted videos on TikTok this week expressing sympathy with Osama bin Laden, the notorious terrorist who orchestrated the September 11 attacks, for a two-decade-old letter he wrote critiquing the United States, including its government and support of Israel. TikTok is hugely popular with young Americans, with a majority of Americans under 30 using the app at least once a week, according to a KFF survey. The attack was orchestrated by Bin Laden, the former leader of the al Qaeda terrorist group who was killed in a US special forces raid in 2011. “There’s no proof it was written by bin Laden and some of the things that he focuses on are inconsistent with his other writings,” he told CNN. New data from the Pew Research Center released Wednesday shows TikTok is rapidly becoming a place where more and more young Americans get their news.

Persons: Osama bin Laden, TikTok, Bin Laden, influencer, ”, al, Andrew Bates, “, ” Bates, ” Imran Ahmed, ” Ahmed, Peter Bergen, Bergen, bin Laden, Pew Organizations: CNN, Israel, Hamas, Center, CNN National Security, Guardian, Pew Research Center Locations: United States, Israel, New York City , Washington, Pennsylvania, America, New York, American, al Qaeda, Palestine, TikTok

☆ Teens are using social media to diagnose themselves with ADHD, autism and more. Parents are alarmed
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

But Coleman is one of nearly two dozen parents who told CNN that they are grappling with a different but related issue: teens using social media to diagnose themselves with mental health conditions. Some parents said social media has helped their teens get mental health information they’ve needed and has helped them feel less alone. According to Hamlet, social media companies should tweak algorithms to better detect when users are consuming too much content about a specific topic. Meanwhile, Mary Spadaro Daikos from upstate New York feels mixed about her daughter using social media for reasons related to her autism diagnosis. “She’s doing a lot of self-discovery right now in so many areas, and social media is a big part of that,” she said.

Persons: Erin Coleman, ” Coleman, doesn’t, Coleman, Julie Harper, Larry D, he’s, ”, it’s, Mitnaul, Larry Mitnaul, he's, Patricia Mitnaul “, I’m, that’s, Mislabeling, isn’t, Harper, “, they’ve, Alexandra Hamlet, Jason Lancaster, Liza Crenshaw, ” Crenshaw, Meta, Instagram, TikTok, Linden Taber, “ I’ve, …, Julie Fulcher, influencers, Mary Spadaro Daikos, Amanda Clendenen, Laura Young, she’s, ” Young Organizations: CNN, Social, Adobe Stock Social, US, Well Locations: “, Wichita , Kansas, Kentucky, New York City, Linden, Chattanooga , Tennessee, Raleigh , North Carolina, New York, Austin

☆ Montana’s TikTok ban throws users into new era of uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Keri Williams wouldn’t have her business without TikTok. But earlier this week, Montana Gov. Now, Williams, who lives near Montana’s largest city — Billings — is scrambling to figure out the future of her business. The law, set to take effect in January, has already been the subject of a lawsuit by a group of TikTok users who allege it infringes on their First Amendment rights. TikTok said in March that it has 150 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 100 million users in 2020, when the Trump administration first threatened to ban the service.

☆ Paralympics TikTok account uses 'edgy and unique content' but has been critiqued by some for lack of sensitivity
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Ben Morse | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Social media is awash with memes and GIFs and, at times, ‘edginess,’ but it can be a difficult balancing act as the official Paralympics TikTok account is discovering. The account is run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the organization which organizes and manages the Paralympic Games. In the comments, the official Paralympic account replied: “This is Brad Snyder. Mixed reactionsAs a result, the videos posted on the official account have received a mixed reaction, with commentators on many of them left disbelieving that the content published there is permitted. “Looking through that whole account, I might have seen one or two [videos] where the athlete actually does something successfully.

☆ 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.

☆ How TikTok’s CEO prepared for his first grilling on Capitol Hill
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Shou Zi Chew is getting ready for his inaugural trip to Congress. In prep sessions, which have taken place in Washington, D.C. ahead of the high-stakes hearing, TikTok personnel have worked to sharpen and polish Chew’s presentation. The Biden administration demanded earlier this month that the company’s Chinese owners divest from the company or be exiled from the country. The app has raised bipartisan national security concerns and growing worries that its sophisticated algorithm poses a danger to young people. “Americans deserve to know the extent to which their privacy is jeopardized and their data is manipulated by ByteDance-owned TikTok’s relationship with China,” McMorris Rodgers said.

☆ Democratic senator urges Apple and Google to ban TikTok from their app stores
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —A member of the Senate Intelligence Committee is calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores over concerns about national security, in the latest indication of mounting scrutiny on the short-form video app from members of Congress. The laws in question, Bennet wrote, require organizations in the country to “cooperate with state intelligence work” and to allow the government to access company resources. China could potentially try to shape what US users see on the app, Bennet warned, with possible implications for foreign policy and democracy. Apple, Google and TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Some other US officials have also called on Apple and Google to voluntarily remove TikTok from their app stores.

☆ 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.

☆ TikTok is ‘digital fentanyl,’ incoming GOP China committee chair says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Andrew Millman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington CNN —TikTok is an addictive drug China’s government is providing to Americans, says the incoming chairman of a new House select committee on China. TikTok, whose parent company, ByteDance, is Chinese-owned, has been banned from electronic devices managed by the US House of Representatives, according to an internal notice sent to House staff. The move comes after more than a dozen states in recent weeks have implemented their own prohibitions against TikTok on government devices. “We have to ask whether we want the CCP to control what’s on the cusp of becoming the most powerful media company in America,” he told NBC. Security experts have said that the data could allow China to identify intelligence opportunities or to seek to influence Americans through disinformation campaigns.

☆ Biden signs TikTok ban for government devices amid security concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

President Joe Biden approved a limited TikTok ban Thursday when he signed the 4,126-page spending bill into law. The ban prohibits the use of TikTok by the federal government’s nearly 4 million employees on devices owned by its agencies, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and security research purposes. Since 2020, a bubbling movement led largely by conservatives has maintained a minor interest in a TikTok ban. “We’re disappointed that Congress has moved to ban TikTok on government devices — a political gesture that will do nothing to advance national security interests — rather than encouraging the Administration to conclude its national security review,” the company said in a statement. It added that the proposed security agreement with the Biden administration would address the security concerns of lawmakers and regulators.

☆ News outlets are embracing TikTok in an effort to reach younger audiences, survey shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —News publishers are getting in on the TikTok trend. That’s according to a brand new survey published Wednesday evening by the Reuters Institute and University of Oxford. The survey found that, from a global standpoint, about half of the world’s top newsrooms are now regularly posting on the ByteDance-owned app. The survey found that the rates of TikTok usage among news publishers is highest in Western Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America. “If you look at some of the storytelling going on TikTok, it is really different,” Newman told CNN.

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