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☆ Internal document shows Google using uncertainty over a TikTok ban to try to win more ad dollars for YouTube
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

YouTube, TikTok, and Meta are fighting for ad spendA TikTok ban could have huge upside for YouTube. While YouTube is eating up more ad dollars, the platform is still behind Meta in terms of total video ad spend in the US, based on projected data from eMarketer. AdvertisementMeanwhile, TikTok has been gaining ground, with eMarketer predicting TikTok will have almost caught up to YouTube in terms of video ad dollars by 2025 in the US (assuming TikTok isn't banned). And like YouTube, the Chinese-owned app is also trying to take ad dollars away from TV networks and video streamers. It's still not clear how many ad dollars are moving to YouTube Shorts, but Google Chief Business Officer Phillip Schindler talked up the service on the company's latest investor call.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, YouTube's, Sundar Pichai, Zuckerberg, TikTok, isn't, eMarketer, Meta's, It's, Phillip Schindler Organizations: Service, Google, YouTube, Business, Apple, BI, Pew Research Locations: USA

☆ For US renters, the chance of owning a home is going from bad to worse
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-08 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

New York CNN —The American dream of homeownership is looking more like a nightmare. With inflation heating up again, the Federal Reserve is in no position to consider lowering interest rates at its upcoming meetings. That’s according to a New York Fed survey gauging consumers’ expectations of the housing market, released Monday. Consumers are gearing up for even bigger increases compared to the expected rise in mortgage rates over the next year, the New York Fed survey found. The issue of rent affordability is particularly pronounced in New York City, where housing costs have always been notoriously high compared to other parts of the country, absent a brief respite during the pandemic.

Persons: That’s, Kenny Lee, Aditya Bhave, Neel Kashkari, Bhave, ” Bhave, “, Perdue “, ”, Read, TikTok, Joe Biden, Brian Fung, Bytedance Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Federal, New, Fed, Zillow, Bank of America, CNN, Minneapolis, Bloomberg, United States Department of Labor, Seaboard Triumph Foods, Perdue, Labor Department, Seaboard, Labor, Packers Sanitation Services, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit Locations: New York, New York City, Fayette, DOL, Sioux City , Iowa, Accomac , Virginia, China

☆ TikTok sues to block prospective US app ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

If it loses, TikTok could be banned from US app stores unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, sells the app to a non-Chinese entity by mid-January 2025. But Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, an advocate for the TikTok legislation, said in remarks on the Senate floor in April that the briefings provided critical insight into the risk TikTok poses. US policymakers have described the law at issue as a forced divestiture of TikTok, not an outright app ban. Some US officials have been trying to ban TikTok from the United States since 2020, when former President Donald Trump moved to block the app by executive order. (Trump has since reversed his position, saying a TikTok ban would only help Meta, a company Trump blames for his 2020 election defeat.)

Persons: Washington CNN — TikTok, Joe Biden, TikTok, Bytedance, “, didn’t, Virginia Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, Warner, they’ve, They’ve, ”, Tuesday’s, ByteDance, TikTok’s, Berman, Evelyn Douek, Biden, Gautam Hans, Hans said, Jennifer Huddleston, Donald Trump, Trump, Douek, ” Douek Organizations: Washington CNN, Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, Justice Department, Oracle, Foreign Investment, Republican, Democrat, Virginia Democratic, Senate, Stanford University, Cornell University . Still, Apple, Google, Cato Institute, European Commission, Trump Locations: China, United States, TikTok, Israel, Ukraine, Montana, Canada, United Kingdom, India

☆ TikTok is taking the US to court to stop its ban
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Dan Whateley | Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

TikTok is suing the US government over its new law that forces a sale or ban of the app. AdvertisementTikTok promised to fight its ban in the US — and now the social-media giant has made it official. TikTok has denied both of these claims, and the US government has yet to present evidence that either action has occurred. Legal scholars told Business Insider that well-articulated First Amendment arguments tend to prevail in court, but Congress' national-security concerns could ultimately win out. Hans, an associate clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School and associate director of its First-Amendment clinic, told BI.

Persons: TikTok, —, ByteDance, Joe Biden, G.S, Hans, Matthew Schettenhelm, Schettenhelm Organizations: Service, Chinese Communist Party, Foreign, Business, Cornell Law School, Appeals, DC Circuit, Bloomberg Intelligence Locations: China, Russia, Beijing, India

☆ Your Neighbors Are Retiring in Their 30s. Why Can’t You?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Amy X. Wang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Even before he really knew what it meant, Allen Wong wanted to be rich. What “rich” seemed to dangle was something simpler, more elementary, more a feeling than anything else: freedom from pain. “I didn’t want to be absent from my family and only show up a few hours each day after work. Wong’s father was ousted from his business, sank into a depression and committed suicide; his mother tripped down a spiral of mental illness. Suddenly, Wong’s entry-level computer programming job was the household’s only source of income, and there was a world financial crisis going on.

Persons: Allen Wong, Wong, “, ”, Wong’s, doggedly Organizations: Lamborghini Locations: Guangzhou, Hong Kong, New York City, Chinatown

☆ Here are Monday's biggest analyst calls: Nvidia, Apple, Amazon, U.S. Steel, Micron, Disney, Citi & more
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Michael Bloom | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Here are the biggest calls on Wall Street on Monday: Morgan Stanley initiates EHang Holdings as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's bullish on shares of the Asia autonomous aerial vehicle company. Morgan Stanley downgrades Victoria's Secret to underweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said it sees "underappreciated downside" for the lingerie company. Citi downgrades Peloton to neutral from buy Citi said in its downgrade of the stock that it has "limited visibility." Morgan Stanley upgrades U.S. Steel to overweight from equal weight Morgan Stanley said in its upgrade of U.S. Steel that it likes the company's "transformational investments." Morgan Stanley reiterates Apple as overweight Morgan Stanley said it's sticking with its overweight rating on Apple after analyzing the company's quarterly 10-Q report.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, it's, Baird, Morgan Stanley downgrades, Wells, Bausch, Lomb, Apple, Johnson, MLCO, Moffett, Melius, inferencing, JPMorgan Organizations: EHang Holdings, EH, Deutsche Bank, Disney, Deutsche, Micron, Citi, Comerica, CMA, Steel, U.S . Steel, Apple, Services, UBS, JCI, Barclays, Resorts, Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Group, Bank of America, Santander Brasil, of America Locations: Asia, U.S

☆ Why Apple's ad business isn't what you think it is
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Apple's definition of "services" includes advertising, which Apple routinely says is a major driver of its services growth. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. But as we've pointed out many times, iPhone sales won't grow forever. Which is why, for the last several years, Apple has been taking pains to highlight its growing "services" business. "Services," per Apple's description, is a fast-growing grab-bag of stuff, all of which doesn't directly involve Apple hardware: money Apple makes from App Store sales; money Apple makes selling warranties and cloud storage; and money Apple makes selling you music and TV subscription services.

Persons: —, doesn't Organizations: Apple, Service, Business

☆ When grief and AI collide: These people are communicating with the dead
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-06 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

People have wanted to reconnect with deceased loved ones for centuries, whether they’ve visited mediums and spiritualists or leaned on services that preserve their memory. In September 2023, it introduced ChatGPT voice, where users can ask the chatbot prompts without typing. HereAfter AI, founded in 2019, allows users to create avatars of deceased loved ones. “Remembering is very important; it reflects the human condition and importance of deceased loved ones.”But she noted the relationship we have with our closest loved ones is built on authenticity. Creating an AI version of that person could for many “feel like a violation of that.”Bill Abney said he feels uneasy about communicating with his late fiancée through AI platforms.

Persons: Ana Schultz, Kyle, ”, Schultz, “, Schutz, they’ve, ” Ana Schultz, ElevenLabs, Joe Biden, Biden, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Danielle Jacobson, she’s, Phil, Cole, ” Jacobson, “ Cole, Replika, Rohit Prasad, Val Kilmer, It’s, Mary, Frances O’Connor, ‘, ’ ”, Bill Abney, Kari, ” Abney, “ I’m, Jodi Spiegel, Sims Organizations: CNN, Davidson College, Tech, Alexa, MARS, Amazon, University of Arizona Locations: Rock Falls , Illinois, Alabama, Johannesburg, South Africa, “, San Francisco, Newfoundland, Canada

☆ Apple can't tell you iPhone sales are booming, so it's talking about 'services.' That's a problem.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

It didn't boast about iPhone sales, which declined. AdvertisementApple had a great second quarter, Apple says: The company hit an "all-time revenue record in Services," the company reports. And if you head over to the company's financials, you can see why: iPhone sales dropped by 10% in the last three months. Prior to Thursday's earnings, analysts had fretted that Chinese iPhone sales were soft, but on Thursday afternoon, Cook told CNBC that iPhone sales in China were up. AdvertisementAnd, as we've been pointing out repeatedly, Apple's App Store rules are under increasing pressure from regulators around the world — and in the EU in particular.

Persons: —, Cook, I've, it's Organizations: Apple, Service, CNBC, Google, US Department Locations: China, EU

☆ Black creators were instrumental in building TikTok. Now they fear they'll be hit the hardest by a ban.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

But largely, TikTok is a place Black creators found where they could thrive and reach new audiences and customers for their growing businesses. It wasn't that the content wasn't good, Ford said, it was that Instagram "just wasn't a place for Black creators, minority creators, to excel." Some Black creators suspected their Black Lives Matter content was suppressed in 2020 after George Floyd's death ignited a wave of protests. AdvertisementBlack TikTokers have also expressed an "undertone of anti-Blackness" in the platform's algorithm, where white creators benefited from the trends started by Black creators. AdvertisementThis is disheartening, Black creators told BI, because so many top trends and ideas come from their community.

Persons: —, Joe Biden, TikTok, Tenyse Williams, It's, Funmi Ford, Ford, Nya, I've, Étienne, Keith Lee, entrepreneurialism, Kahlil Dumas, Dumas, George Floyd's, Jalaiah Harmon, Black TikTokers, Williams, Imani Bashir, Bashir, We're, isn't Organizations: Service, Senate, Business, Consulting, University of Central, Columbia University, George Washington University, Pew Research Center, An, Free, Black, New York Times, Forbes, YouTube, BI Locations: University of Central Florida, Instagram, An Oxford, Atlanta

☆ Apple's iPad caught in EU's crosshairs as it clamps down on 'gatekeepers'
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The European Commission said users are "locked in" to iPadOS and it's hard for them to switch. It comes as a part of a broader crackdown on "gatekeepers" and a market investigation into Apple. The DMA was designed to ensure fairness and healthy competition in the digital landscape and hold Big Tech "gatekeepers" accountable. In September, the EU Commission designated Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta, and Microsoft gatekeepers. The EU said Monday that its iPadOS investigation found it has "features of a gatekeeper."

Persons: —, Apple's iPadOS, Margrethe Vestager, Apple didn't Organizations: EU, Digital, European Commission, Apple, Service, European, Big Tech, Business, EU Commission, Meta, Microsoft

☆ Apple’s iPad will be subject to tough EU competition rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Apple’s iPad will face heightened regulation in the European Union after officials labeled its operating system Monday as a key gatekeeper technology under EU competition law. The stricter regulations require, for example, that the iPad not restrict third-party companies from accessing Apple services. And they prohibit Apple from giving its own services preferential treatment on the iPad compared to those offered by competitors. Apple is already subject to European gatekeeper obligations on iOS and in its app store and browser. “We will continue to constructively engage with the European Commission to comply with the DMA, across all designated services,” Apple said in a statement.

Persons: Margrethe Vestager, iPadOS didn’t, “, Vestager, ” Apple, ” Organizations: CNN, European Union, Google, Microsoft, Apple, European Commission Locations: European

☆ Nospace is a new nostalgia-filled social media app for Gen Z that's already got a 500,000-person waiting list
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-28 | by ( Alexandra Bacon | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read previewA new social media app targeting Gen Z, Nospace, is set to be released in June, the company told BI. Her new app jumps on Gen Z's love of Y2K and harkens back to a simpler age of social media. Nospace wants to recapture some of the magic of social media apps like MySpace and early Facebook, which centered on friendships and making new connections. Zhong is a seasoned social media pro who knows how to appeal to Gen Z trends. Through her previous companies, she's advised companies like Snapchat, Levi Strauss, and Google on how to reach a younger Gen Z audience.

Persons: —, Nospace, Tiffany Zhong, Zer, Zhong, Z's, everyone's, Tati, she's, Levi Strauss Organizations: Service, Pineapple Capital, Business, Google

☆ The FTC says Jeff Bezos and Amazon execs used Signal to talk business — and it wants to know more
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon execs used messaging app Signal to discuss business matters, the Federal Trade Commission said. The agency wants to know if execs told Amazon staff to delete messages, and when to use Signal. AdvertisementAmazon's top executives used the encrypted messaging app Signal to discuss "sensitive business matters," the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Thursday. The founder said, "Are you on signal messaging app? "Amazon also recognizes that sellers believe 'that it has become more difficult over time to be profitable on Amazon,'" the FTC filing stated.

Persons: execs, —, Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy, David Zapolsky, Jeff Wilke, Dave Clark, Tim Doyle, Mike Hopkins, Carlo Bertucci, Amazon's, Zapolsky Organizations: Federal Trade Commission, Amazon, Service, FTC, Amazon MGM Studios

☆ Gen Z would rather take a chance on a new app than use 'embarrassing' Instagram if TikTok gets banned
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

AdvertisementAs a potential US TikTok ban looms, Gen Zers are contemplating what app might take its place. A potential TikTok ban loomsThe US Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that could see TikTok removed from app stores. It's unclear if such AI tools would convince Gen Z to scroll on Instagram and use it more often. AdvertisementJaxson Whittle, an older Gen Z, told BI he holds a different opinion. "No hate to them, but I don't think it's the move for Gen Z at the moment."

Persons: Young, —, Zers, Joe Biden, They'd, Gabrielle Yap, Instagram, Josie doesn't, Gen, Hibaq Farah, TikTok, Farah, Tabitha Mae, I'm, I've, Yap, Kat, It's, Sophie Lund, Yates, Hargreaves Lansdown, Jaxson Whittle, TikToker Cassandra Marie, Gen Z, she's Organizations: Service, Senate, Business, Pew Research Center, Meta, Facebook, BBC, YouTube, Gen Locations: TikTok

☆ The TikTok divest-or-ban bill is a First Amendment disaster, but it may still stand up in court
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Dan Whateley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Maybe…Earlier attempts to ban or force a sale of TikTok often haven't stood up in court. Other parties, like TikTok creators, may launch separate legal challenges in the coming weeks, as they have done in the past. AdvertisementTrump's 2020 order to ban TikTok was halted by a federal judge who said it likely exceeded executive authority. While the bill is framed around forcing US ownership of TikTok, it's likely to result in a ban, which strengthens the free-speech argument. Congress hasn't proven that an outright sale or ban of TikTok is the only way to protect national-security interests.

Persons: Joe Biden, ByteDance, TikTok, haven't, TikTokers, Matthew Schettenhelm, Hans, Lena Shapiro, Ramya Krishnan Organizations: Service, Business, ACLU, Bloomberg Intelligence, Cornell Law School, TikTok, University of Illinois College of Law, Chinese Communist Party, Intelligence Law, CCP, Columbia University Locations: Montana, Texas, Washington, China

☆ TikTok to suspend TikTok Lite's reward programme amid EU concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

This photograph taken on April 11, 2024, in Paris, shows the logo of the Chinese social network application TikTok Lite displayed in Apple's App Store. The social network TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, has launched a new application in France and Spain, called TikTok Lite, which allows its users to get paid by watching videos, it announced on April 10, 2024. Users aged 18 or older can "collect points by discovering new content or completing certain actions," the social network said. TikTok will voluntarily suspend its new app TikTok Lite's reward programme while it works to address EU concerns, the company said on X social media platform on Wednesday. The European Commission had given the ByteDance-owned company until today to address its concerns about the potentially addictive nature of the reward programme for children or face a temporary suspension of the feature.

Persons: TikTok Organizations: European Commission Locations: Paris, France, Spain

☆ Banning TikTok would hit China’s tech ambitions and deepen the global digital divide
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Not only would that deal another huge blow to China’s tech ambitions, it would further deepen the divide between two digital worlds centered around the rival economic superpowers. Congress on Tuesday approved legislation that could compel ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a national ban. That leaves few options for ByteDance to secure the future of TikTok in the US, its biggest market with 170 million users. “This includes everything from who owns and operates data centers, to space-based internet satellites, to undersea cables and, of course semiconductors.”In that sense, the TikTok ban has its silver lining for Beijing. Growing challenges for Chinese appsThe TikTok legislation was included in a wide-ranging foreign aid package meant to support Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, ByteDance, Joe Biden, TikTok, “, ”, Alex Capri, Richard Windsor, Capri, Biden, Paul Triolo, ” Triolo, Wang Wenbin, CNN’s Marc Stewart, Triolo doesn’t, — CNN’s Wayne Chang, Marc Stewart Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Foundation, National University of Singapore’s Business, YouTube, Google, Radio Free Mobile, TikTok, Technology, Albright, Commerce Department, Commerce, China’s, Foreign Ministry, Facebook, Apple Locations: China, Hong Kong, America, Beijing, Capri, “, Asia, Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan, Silicon Valley, American, Bytedance, “ Beijing

☆ Biden signs foreign aid bill providing crucial military assistance to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Michael Williams | Arlette Saenz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law an aid package providing crucial military assistance to Ukraine, capping months of negotiations and debate. The aid package, passed by the Senate late Tuesday evening and worth $95 billion in total, includes nearly $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, $26 billion for Israel and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific. Hardline House conservatives opposed further US funding to Kyiv and threatened to oust Johnson over his handling of the negotiations. Conservatives in Congress have opposed additional assistance for what they view as an unwinnable war. Earlier this year, Biden signaled his intentions to make significant immigration-related concessions if Congress were to move forward with the aid bill.

Persons: Joe Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, Mike Johnson, Johnson, Biden, Bill Burns, Donald Trump, Trump, Sen, Bernie Sanders, ” Sanders, Benjamin ] Organizations: Washington CNN, Senate, House Republican, Conservatives, Congress, CIA, Ukraine, Republicans Locations: Ukraine, Israel, United States, Kyiv, Europe, Russia, Gaza

☆ Tesla's earnings report was worse than expected, but Elon Musk has a plan
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, we're looking at Tesla's earnings report and what comes next for the EV maker. The big storyTesla's turnaround planJADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng; BIBad news: Tesla's earnings report was worse than expected. AdvertisementPerhaps that's why Musk spent so much of the earnings call discussing autonomy and the progress made with Tesla's Full Self-Driving software . Musk told analysts on the earnings call that Tesla is the majority of his work . If investors vote against the package at Tesla's annual meeting in June, who knows where Musk — and his AI ambitions — will end up .

Persons: —, Chelsea Jia Feng, Elon Musk, Tesla, Musk, hasn't, Insider's Linette Lopez, Matt Anderson, Tyler Le, JPMorgan's Marko Kolanovic, Kolanovic, Cathie, Stocks, Goldman Sachs, Gerard Julien, Elon Musk's, Carl Godfrey, Joe Biden, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, George Glover Organizations: Business, Service, Getty Images, Tesla, Getty, EV, Musk's, Intel, Micron Technology, Microsoft, BI America, Amazon, Boeing, Meta, IBM, US Locations: Delaware, Outflows, United States, China, Idaho, New York, London

☆ Senate passes bill that could ban TikTok in the US
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Madison Hall | Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

The Senate just passed a TikTok "ban" as part of a larger foreign aid bill. Once Biden signs it into law, ByteDance will have 270 days to sell TikTok. Trump tried to institute a similar ban via executive order, but it was struck down by in court. AdvertisementThe Senate passed a multifaceted bill Tuesday evening that would effectively ban TikTok from the US app store once President Joe Biden signs it, as he has signaled he will. Tucked into the foreign aid bills was text forcing TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to sell the social media service to an American one or face a ban.

Persons: Biden, ByteDance, Trump, —, Joe Biden Organizations: Service, Business Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, Gaza, American

☆ Philippines orders removal of Binance from Google and Apple app stores
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Philippines' Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Google and Apple to remove cryptocurrency exchange Binance from their app stores. In a press release out on Tuesday, the regulator said it had sent letters to Google and Apple requesting the removal of applications controlled by Binance from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, respectively. The agency accused Binance of offering unregistered securities to Filipinos and operating as an unregistered broker, adding that this violates the country's securities laws. Binance, Google, and Apple were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. Aquino said that blocking Binance from the Google and Apple app stores would help "prevent the further proliferation of its illegal activities in the country, and to protect the investing public from its detrimental effects on our economy."

Persons: Zhao Changpeng, Binance, Emilio Aquino, Aquino Organizations: Viva Technology, Porte de, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Google, Apple, Binance, CNBC Locations: Porte, Paris, France, Philippines, Philippine

☆ Congress just passed a potential TikTok ban. Here’s what happens next
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —Congress finalized legislation on Tuesday that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban, escalating a massive threat to the company’s US operations. What does the TikTok legislation do? The earlier TikTok bill had been passed by the House, but it stalled in the Senate. In a procedural move, House Republicans this month attached the revised TikTok bill to the foreign aid package in hopes of forcing the Senate to vote on the TikTok legislation. Bundling the bill with the foreign aid — a top US priority — fast-tracked the TikTok bill and made it more likely to pass.

Persons: Joe Biden’s, Biden, there’s, Will Biden, Jennifer Gay, Mariam Zuhaib, —, TikTok, Shou Chew, ”, Nadine Farid Johnson, ByteDance Organizations: Washington CNN —, Republicans, Senate, White, U.S . Capitol, U.S, TikTok, Columbia University, “ Locations: Israel, Ukraine, United States, Washington, China

☆ Meta's Threads now has more daily users in the US than Elon Musk's X
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Now, Threads has more daily users in the US than X, a trend that's been ongoing since December, when Threads became Apple's most downloaded app. "Threads DAUs in the US passed X in December 2023 and it has not looked back," Thomas Grant, Apptopia's VP of research, said. That's a roughly 55% increase in DAUs from December when Threads averaged an estimated 18 million users each day. According to Sensor Tower estimates, daily users of the X app worldwide are down 19% compared to October 2022, the month that Musk took over Twitter. An estimate of daily users from Apptopia for the week also shows no gain in Threads users.

Persons: Elon Musk, Thomas Grant, Apptopia's, It's, Musk, X, Mark Zuckerberg's, Taylor Swift, Swift, MAUs, Zuckerberg, X MAUs, Kali Hays Organizations: Service, Elon, Business, Apple, Google, Twitter, US Locations: That's, DAUs, khays@businessinsider.com

☆ Senate on track to pass $95 billion foreign aid package this week
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Morgan Rimmer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The Senate will take up the House-passed $95 billion foreign aid package this week, as the legislation nears its final congressional action after both sides of Capitol Hill have struggled for months to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The legislation ties together four bills that the House voted on separately in a rare Saturday session, providing nearly $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, over $26 billion for Israel and more than $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific. Aid for Ukraine and Israel has been stalled after House and Senate Republicans demanded action on border security first, leading to months of negotiations in the Senate on a border package tied to foreign aid. “The Senate now stands ready to take the next step,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared Saturday afternoon. Senators were supposed to be in recess this week, marking the Passover holiday, but they elected to return and wrap up work on the foreign aid package instead.

Persons: Joe Biden, Mike Johnson, Johnson, Donald Trump, “, Chuck Schumer Organizations: CNN, Capitol, Republicans, Senate, New, New York Democrat, Senators Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, American, New York, America

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