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☆ Exclusive: China's Bytedance is talking to likely buyers about gaming unit Moonton's sale
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-15 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Shanghai-based Moonton, which has developed the popular mobile game “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang”, was acquired by ByteDance in 2021. At the time, it was seen as ByteDance’s biggest commitment to become a major player in the $187 billion global video games market. ByteDance's foray into video games has proven to be rocky so far. Founded in 2014, Moonton found success with multiplayer online battle arena game "Mobile Legends". Last year, ByteDance disbanded its Shanghai-based game development unit 101 Studio.

Persons: Aly, ByteDance, Moonton, Pico, Josh Ye, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kim Coghill Organizations: REUTERS, ByteDance, Companies, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, Saudi, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong

☆ Meta's Instagram and Facebook are growing faster than TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

During the third quarter, the Facebook app's daily active users grew by 1.5% and monthly active users grew by 1.8%, according to data from Apptopia. Instagram's daily users grew by 1.5% and monthly users grew by 1.6%. In its quarterly report , Meta said Facebook's total number of daily users, including web users, grew by 5%, while monthly users grew by 3%. There is one metric where TikTok still has Facebook and Instagram beat: how long the average user spends on the app. Instagram's average user spends 58 minutes a day on the app, while the average Facebook user spends about 45 minutes.

Persons: TikTok, Mark Zuckerberg, China's Bytedance, Evercore, Meta, Instagram, Adam Mosseri, Zuckerberg, Kali Hays Organizations: Meta, Facebook, Evercore, Twitter Locations: Apptopia, Instagram, SensorTower, TikTok, khays@insider.com, @hayskali

☆ YouTube, TikTok must detail child protection measures by Nov 30, EU says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] A 3D printed Youtube and Tik Tok logo are seen placed on keyboard in this illustration taken, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) YouTube and TikTok have been given a Nov. 30 deadline by the European Union to reply to an information request on how they protect children from illegal and harmful content, the European Commission said on Thursday. Google and TikTok did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The information request comes days after Breton told TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Zi Chew to spare no effort to counter disinformation on its platform, owned by China's ByteDance. "Based on the assessment of the replies, the Commission will assess next steps", the Commission said.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Thierry Breton, Breton, Shou Zi Chew, China's ByteDance, Sundar Pichai, Tassilo Hummel, David Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, YouTube, European Union, European Commission, Big Tech, Digital Services, Google, Reuters, Wednesday, TikTok, DSA, Thomson Locations: Rights BRUSSELS, Breton

The price valued the company at $223.5 billion, about 26% lower than a valuation a year earlier, the Reuters report said. Last year, ByteDance was valued at $300 billion in a buyback program offered to its non-U.S. employees. The latest $160 price is higher than the $155 price set in an earlier April buyback, the person added. A ByteDance spokesperson confirmed the share buyback plan for employees outside the U.S., saying it aimed to provide liquidity options for staff through such programs. Buybacks allow employees to cash in shares without waiting for the company to list on the stock market.

Persons: Aly, ByteDance, Brenda Goh, Josh YE, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, United States, U.S, Hong Kong

☆ China's ByteDance to overhaul VR arm Pico as global demand declines -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ByteDance logo is seen at the company's office in Shanghai, China July 4, 2023. The meeting did not specify how many jobs would be cut as a result, but the three people said "hundreds" of Pico staff were expected to be affected globally. In China, it has become the leading VR producer by total shipments and globally it trails only Meta. But two of the people said ByteDance had pared back efforts to develop Pico as a brand in recent months as the outlook dimmed. ByteDance said last month it remained committed to the VR industry in the long term following media reports that it planned to gradually wind down Pico.

Persons: Aly, Pico, ByteDance, Josh Ye, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Pico, Reuters, VR, Meta, IDC, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Pico, HONG KONG

Companies TikTok FollowBRUSSELS, Nov 6 (Reuters) - TikTok must "spare no effort" to counter the spread of disinformation on the short video sharing app, EU industry chief Thierry Breton told the company's CEO on Monday, as the European Union steps up its efforts to curb the powers of Big Tech. "My services and I are now investigating whether this is enough to ensure compliance with the DSA (Digital Services Act)," Breton told Reuters in written comments after a video call with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. "Because now more than ever, we must spare no effort to protect our citizens – especially children and teenagers – against illegal content and disinformation," he said. TikTok Public Policy Director Caroline Greer said in a post on social media platform X that the company was pleased that Breton recognised its compliance efforts. The DSA requires large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful online content on their platforms.

Persons: Thierry Breton, China's ByteDance, Breton, Shou Zi Chew, Caroline Greer, Chew, Vera Jourova, Didier Ryenders, Foo Yun Chee, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Big Tech, DSA, Services, Reuters, Big, EU, Values, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, European, Breton, Big Tech, Brussels

☆ Intel to operate its Programmable Solutions Group as standalone business
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Technology category · October 3, 2023 · 8:51 AM UTCChina's ByteDance is buying back shares from U.S. employees in a deal that values the TikTok parent company at $223.5 billion, about 26% lower than a valuation a year earlier, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Organizations: Reuters

[1/4] Bening Widayati, 40, sells clothes live on a social media platform inside her stall at the International Trade Center (ITC) mall in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 27, 2023. The government said the move, which takes effect immediately, is aimed at protecting offline merchants and marketplaces, adding that predatory pricing on social media platforms is threatening small and medium-sized enterprises. The move comes just three months after TikTok pledged to invest billion of dollars in Southeast Asia, mainly in Indonesia, over the next few years in a major push to build its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop. He warned of letting social media become an e-commerce platform, shop, and bank all at the same time. Indonesia Deputy Trade Minister Jerry Sambuaga earlier this month named TikTok's live streaming features as an example of people selling goods on social media.

Persons: Widayati, Willy Kurniawan, TikTok, China's ByteDance, Zulkifli Hasan, Zulkifli, Jerry Sambuaga, Fahmi, Edri, Dewi Kurniawati, Stefanno Sulaiman, Fransiska Nangoy, Stanley Widianto, Johan Purnomo, Kanupriya Kapoor, Alexandra Hudson, Miyoung Kim, Mark Porter Organizations: International Trade Center, REUTERS, Indonesia Trade, Wednesday, Reuters, Indonesia Deputy Trade, Research, BMI, HK, Lazada, Momentum Works, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, JAKARTA, Shop, TikTok, Europe, United States

U.S. flag and TikTok logo are seen in this illustration taken, June 2, 2023. The states say TikTok, which is used by more than 150 million Americans, has faced growing calls from U.S. lawmakers for a nationwide ban over concerns about possible Chinese government influence. Efforts to pass legislation to give the Biden administration more power to ban or crack down on TikTok have stalled. TikTok estimates 380,000 people in Montana use the video service, or more than a third of the state's 1.1 million people. Former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2020 sought to bar new downloads of TikTok but a series of court decisions blocked the ban from taking effect.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, TikTok, China's ByteDance, Austin Knudsen, Donald Trump, David Shepardson, Chris Reese Organizations: REUTERS, Chinese Communist Party, Biden, Republican, Former U.S, Thomson Locations: Virginia, Georgia, Alaska , Utah , Indiana , Nebraska , Indiana , Iowa, Kentucky, South Dakota, Montana, Former

☆ EU lists Alphabet, Amazon, Meta and three other tech giants as 'gatekeepers' under strict competition rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The logos of Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft displayed on a mobile phone with an EU flag shown in the background. The European Commission on Wednesday said it designated six tech giants as "gatekeepers" under its new Digital Markets Act — a strict set of rules that could shake up the business models of large digital platforms. Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, Meta and ByteDance will have six months to bring their core platform services into compliance with the obligations laid out in the EU's DMA, the Commission said. The Commission said that it deems Amazon , Apple , Alphabet , Meta , Microsoft and China's ByteDance as "gatekeepers." The EU believes that Microsoft's Bing, Edge and Microsoft Advertising platforms and Apple's iMessage service meet the bar to be considered gatekeepers.

Persons: Microsoft's Bing, Apple's iPadOS Organizations: Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, European Commission, Meta, EU, Edge, Commission, Google, Spotify, Games, Digital, CNBC, Wednesday Locations: EU, Cupertino, Beijing

☆ China bans govt officials from using iPhone for work -WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man holds an iPhone 14 as Apple Inc's new models go on sale at an Apple store in Beijing, China, September 16, 2022. The orders were given by superiors to their staff in recent weeks and it wasn't clear how widely the orders were being distributed, the WSJ said. China has in recent years grown more concerned over data security and has rolled out new laws and compliance requirements for companies. The latest restriction by China mirrors similar bans taken in the United States against Chinese smartphone maker Huawei and short video platform TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance. China is one of Apple's biggest markets and generates nearly one-fifth of its revenue.

Persons: Thomas Peter, Gina Raimondo, China's ByteDance, Baranjot Kaur, Savio D'Souza, Miral Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Wall Street, China's, Information Office, Washington, planemaker Boeing, Micron Technology, . Commerce, Huawei, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Sino, U.S, United States, Bengaluru

☆ Montana AG asks court to reject TikTok challenge to state ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A separate lawsuit has been filed by TikTok users in Montana. Knudsen said in a legal filing that Montana can ban harmful products, saying it does not violate free speech rights. The law does not impose penalties on individual TikTok users. TikTok estimates 380,000 people in Montana use the video service, or more than a third of the state's 1.1 million people. The American Civil Liberties Union this month called TikTok's ban unconstitutional and "a direct restriction on protected expression and association."

Persons: Dado Ruvic, China's ByteDance, General Austin Knudsen, " Knudsen, Donald Trump, Knudsen, David Shepardson, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: REUTERS, Tencent Holdings, Republican, HK, Biden, American Civil Liberties Union, Thomson Locations: Montana

JAKARTA/HONG KONG, July 27 (Reuters) - TikTok said it has no plans to roll out a cross-border business in Indonesia as a government minister on Thursday expressed concerns over how reported plans for a new e-commerce push by the firm could flood the country with Chinese products. "We have no intent to create our own e-commerce product or become a retailer/wholesaler in Indonesia to compete with Indonesian sellers." The current localised TikTok Shop model "empowers and benefits" local sellers, and TikTok will continue with this approach, she added. The company said that its app has 325 million Southeast Asian users that are active every month while 125 million are in Indonesia. The company has said that there are 2 million small businesses on TikTok Shop in Indonesia.

Persons: TikTok, China's ByteDance, Masduki, Fiki, Temu, Anggini Setiawan, Shou Zi Chew, Stanley Widianto, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Conor Humphries Organizations: Reuters, Indonesia's, Cooperatives, Enterprises, PDD Holdings, U.S, of Communications, TikTok, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, HONG KONG, Indonesia, United States, Indonesian, Europe, TikTok Indonesia, Asia, Jakarta, Hong Kong

WASHINGTON, July 5 (Reuters) - TikTok Inc on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to block enforcement of a Montana state ban on use of the Chinese-owned app before it takes effect on Jan. 1. Chandlee said if the ban takes effect "we expect that additional advertisers and business partners will pull back from working with TikTok Inc (which is the entity that receives income from U.S. advertisers, including in Montana)." Montana could impose fines of $10,000 for each violation by TikTok. TikTok estimates 380,000 people in Montana use the video service, or more than a third of the state's 1.1 million people. TikTok's lawsuit names Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, who is charged with enforcing the law.

Persons: China's ByteDance, Donald W, Molloy, Blake Chandlee, TikTok, Chandlee, Donald Trump, Austin Knudsen, David Shepardson, Himani Sarkar, Robert Birsel Organizations: Inc, Wednesday, U.S, District, TikTok, Business, Constitution's, TikTok Inc, HK, Montana Attorney, Thomson Locations: Montana

☆ TikTok COO Pappas quits after five years in the role
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 22 (Reuters) - TikTok Chief Operating Officer V. Pappas is stepping down after five years with the short-video company owned by China's ByteDance, according to an email seen by Reuters on Thursday. In an email to staff, Pappas said they would be taking on an advisory role for the company during the transition. "Given all the successes reached at TikTok, I finally feel the time is right to move on and refocus on my entrepreneurial passions," said Pappas, who uses the pronoun they. Adam Presser, TikTok's chief of staff, will become head of operations and oversee content, user operations and distribution, Chew said. Last month, TikTok sued Montana after it became the first state to ban the app state-wide.

Persons: Pappas, China's ByteDance, Shou Chew, Zenia Mucha, TikTok, Adam Presser, TikTok's, Chew, Samrhitha, Dawn Chmielewski, Sheila Dang, Devika Syamnath, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Reuters, Walt Disney Co, Thomson Locations: TikTok, Montana, Bengaluru, Dawn, Los Angeles, Dallas

☆ TikTok and Candle Media strike deal to co-create content
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 20 (Reuters) - TikTok and Blackstone-backed Candle Media will co-create content and branded entertainment as part of a broad strategic partnership in the United States, the companies said on Tuesday. A key piece of the partnership will be Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon's company that Candle acquired in 2021. TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, will also allow advertisers purchase advertisements directly adjacent to Candle content and share that ad revenue as part of the tie-up. Candle Media was founded by former top Walt Disney (DIS.N) executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs. Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Reese Witherspoon's, TikTok, HBO's, hashtag, China's ByteDance, Kevin Mayer, Tom Staggs, Jaspreet Singh, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Blackstone, Media, Walt Disney, Thomson Locations: United States, Bengaluru

JAKARTA, June 15 (Reuters) - Short video app TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, said on Thursday it would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia over the next few years, as it doubles down on the region amid intensifying global scrutiny over its data security. Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million - half of them under 30 - is one of TikTok's biggest markets in terms of user numbers. "We're going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a forum it organised in Jakarta to highlight the social and economic impact of the app in the region. Chew said TikTok has 8,000 employees in Southeast Asia, and 2 million small vendors selling their wares on its platform in Indonesia, the region's biggest economy. The app has not faced major bans on government devices in Southeast Asia, but it has been under scrutiny over its content.

Persons: China's ByteDance, Shou Zi Chew, Chew, TikTok, Stanley Widanto, Miyoung Kim, Christopher Cushing, Jamie Freed Organizations: HK, Thomson Locations: JAKARTA, Southeast Asia, Sea's, Indonesia, Jakarta, Beijing, Britain, New Zealand, Vietnam

☆ TikTok to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Short video app TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, said on Thursday it would invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia over the next few years, as it doubles down on the region amid intensifying global scrutiny over its data security. Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million — half of them under 30 — is one of TikTok's biggest markets in terms of user numbers. "We're going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years," TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a forum it organised in Jakarta to highlight the social and economic impact of the app in the region. TikTok did not provide a detailed breakdown of the spending plan, but said it would invest in training, advertising and supporting small vendors looking to join its e-commerce platform TikTok Shop. Chew said content on its platform was becoming more diversified as it adds more users and expands beyond advertising into e-commerce, allowing consumers to purchase goods through links on the app during livestreaming.

Persons: China's ByteDance, Alibaba's, Shou Zi Chew, Chew Locations: Southeast Asia, Sea's, Indonesia, Jakarta, TikTok

☆ China's Douyin says has held early talks with Wanda on payments unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HONG KONG, May 31 (Reuters) - ByteDance's short video app Douyin said on Wednesday that it has held preliminary talks with Dalian Wanda Group over the conglomerate's payments unit. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter, that Wanda was in talks with prospective buyers include China's ByteDance to sell its digital payments licence for about 1 billion yuan ($144 million). A spokesperson for Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, declined to provide further comment beyond acknowledging the preliminary talks. Wanda bought its payments licence in 2014 from 99Bill in a deal that allowed visitors to Wanda's venues, from department stores to cinemas, to pay online. ($1 = 6.9121 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Josh Ye and Clare Jim in Hong KongOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wanda, Wang Jianlin, ByteDance, Josh Ye, Clare Jim Organizations: Dalian Wanda Group, Bloomberg, Douyin, Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, 99Bill

☆ Threat of TikTok ban has creators scrambling to build followings on Instagram, YouTube
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Politicians have been threatening a nationwide TikTok ban unless ByteDance sells its stake in the app, a move China said it "strongly" opposed. "That's the power of TikTok," Spangler said, adding that the app drives the majority of sales for his business, The Good Chad. Olivier Douliery | Afp | Getty ImagesIn April, Montana legislators approved a bill that would ban TikTok from being offered in the state starting next year. Creators are turning to other platformsVivian Tu, who lives in Miami, has been preparing for a possible TikTok ban by working to build her audience and diversify her content across multiple platforms. With the looming threat of a TikTok ban, Foster said she's been sharing content across Instagram, YouTube and Twitter to try to expand her following.

☆ TikTok to launch ad product that will give premium content creators 50% cut
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 3 (Reuters) - TikTok said on Wednesday it is launching a product that well let advertisers place ads alongside content produced by premium publishers, half of the ad revenue from which will be shared with those publishers. The social media platform said brands including Buzzfeed, DotDash Meredith, NBCUniversal, UFC and WWE will be the first to join at the launch of the product called Pulse Premiere on May 4. It is an extension of TikTok's Pulse program, which lets marketers place their brand next to the top 4% of content on the platform, the company said. TikTok in March said it had 150 million monthly active users in the United States, up from 100 million in 2020. Reporting by Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ US-China tensions pose big economic risks because the 2 superpowers are more codependent than ever before, former SEC chief Jay Clayton says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Morgan Chittum | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former SEC chief Jay Clayton said the US and China have become increasingly codependent in recent years. If tensions rise between the two superpowers, it could pose huge risks for both economies, he told CNBC. "We are deeply embedded in China... That means that any kind of sharp pullback is going to have significant economic consequences." "Our largest, most important global company has that kind of co-dependency with China," Clayton said on Friday. That means that any kind of sharp pullback is going to have significant economic consequences," Clayton said, adding that a "pivot has to come."

☆ TikTok has tens of thousands of moderators in Ireland looking for offensive content, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 23, 2023 in Washington, DC. To spot and remove offensive posts, TikTok has tens of thousands of Ireland-based workers tasked with content moderation, CEO Shou Zi Chew said on Thursday. Speaking at the TED2023 Possibility conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, Chew said TikTok has "clear community guidelines" and that executives do not "make any ad-hoc decisions" when dealing with "bad actors" on the internet who post offensive content on the app. "Based on that, we have built a team that is tens of thousands of people plus machines in order to identify content that is bad, and actively, proactively remove it from the platform," Chew said. "I can say that we are building all the tools to prevent any of these actions from happening," Chew said.

☆ Montana lawmakers pass bill to ban TikTok
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Montana legislators approved a bill on Friday that would ban TikTok from being offered in the state in a 54-43 vote. Beyond Montana, federal lawmakers have for months been pushing an act that would ban TikTok across the country if ByteDance won't sell its stake in the viral video app. The Montana bill cited likely Chinese surveillance and the potential theft of state intellectual property as some of the impetus behind the ban. TikTok said it opposes the bill, adding that there's no clear path for the Montana government to enforce it or punish violators. "We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach."

☆ Potential TikTok ban sends advertisers scrambling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

In recent discussions with ad buyers, TikTok representatives have stuck to the company's current talking points. TikTok employees have played up ongoing plans to separate the user data of Americans and store it in the country. In a section of the email titled "Can the Chinese government request TikTok U.S. user data?" Even with talk of a ban, most advertisers have not changed their spending plans on TikTok, media buyers said, because discussions of a ban have lingered since 2020 without any result. "A ban isn't a ban until it's a ban," he said.

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