Tag: Social media

TikTok Could Be a Hard Sell to Potential Buyers

Chin@Strategy

TikTok has what many Silicon Valley companies lust after: A culture-making machine beloved by 100 million Americans and deep-pocketed advertisers. That doesn’t mean they will line up to buy it. TikTok said on Wednesday that the Biden administration was pushing the company’s Chinese owners to sell the app or face a possible ban. But there are probably few companies, in the tech industry or elsewhere, willing or able to buy it, analysts and experts say. At a price of $50 billion or more — the value some analysts said TikTok…

U.K. Bans TikTok on Government Devices

Chin@Strategy

Britain on Thursday became the latest Western country to prohibit the use of TikTok on “government devices,” citing security fears linked to the video-sharing app’s ownership by a Chinese company. Speaking in Parliament, Oliver Dowden, a senior cabinet minister, announced the ban with immediate effect, describing it as “precautionary,” even though the United States, the European Union’s executive arm, Canada and India have already taken similar steps. Social media apps collect and store “huge amounts of user data including contacts, user content and geolocation data on government devices that data…

TikTok would be ‘disappointed’ if UK banned app on official devices

Chin@Strategy

TikTok has said it would be “disappointed” if it was banned from UK government devices, after it was reported that ministers were due to follow the example of the US, Canada and the European Commission in blocking the social video app. TikTok said moves to strip it from government-issued phones were based on “misplaced fears”. The app is under pressure over its ownership by Beijing-based ByteDance, with politicians on both sides of the Atlantic warning that the Chinese state could access its data or manipulate what people view on the…

TikTok unveils European data security plan amid calls for US ban

Chin@Strategy

TikTok has announced a data security regime for protecting user information across Europe, as political pressure increases in the US to ban the social video app. The plan, known as Project Clover, involves user data being stored on servers in Ireland and Norway at an annual cost of €1.2bn (£1.1bn), while any data transfers outside Europe will be vetted by a third-party IT company. TikTok is under pressure in the US and Europe over its links to China via its Beijing-based parent, ByteDance. On Tuesday the White House gave its…

White House Said to Consider Pushing Congress on Dealing With TikTok

Chin@Strategy

The Biden administration is considering pushing Congress to give it more legal power to deal with TikTok and other technology that could expose sensitive data to China, five people with knowledge of the matter said, as it comes under growing pressure to resolve security concerns about the Chinese-owned video app. White House officials are weighing whether to support legislation being developed by Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, that would give the government more authority to police apps and services that could pose a risk to Americans’ data security or…

Why Is TikTok Being Banned?

Chin@Strategy

In January, a Republican senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri, introduced a bill to ban TikTok for all Americans after pushing for a measure, which passed in December as part of a spending package, that banned TikTok on all devices issued by the federal government. A separate bipartisan bill, introduced in December, also sought to ban TikTok and target any similar social media companies from countries like Russia and Iran. What is the Biden administration doing? It’s been largely quiet, though the White House pointed to an ongoing review just this…

E.U. Officials Ban TikTok From Employees’ Phones

Chin@Strategy

Citing security concerns, the European Commission on Thursday banned its staff from using TikTok, the Chinese-owned social media platform, a move that underscores increasing tensions between the West and China. The rule would apply to the Commission’s official devices as well as employees’ personal devices if they have work-related apps installed, Sonya Gospodinova, a Commission spokeswoman, said. “The measure aims to protect the commission against cybersecurity threats and actions, which may be exploited for cyberattacks,” she said. The move is the first time the Commission, the executive arm of the…

The Toll That Twitter’s Glitches Is Taking on Chinese Activists

Chin@Strategy

In November, Bao Pu, a veteran human rights activist who was visiting Beijing, posted videos on Twitter of university protests against China’s tough coronavirus lockdown orders. He gained over 10,000 followers in subsequent weeks. But friends and fellow activists soon told him they were having a hard time finding his posts — and even his account — on Twitter. “I was shocked,” said Mr. Bao, who is based in Hong Kong. He said he feared that Twitter was “putting a limit on the influence” that he could have. More than…

Social media campaign linked to Chinese government spreading disinformation about Australian politics, thinktank says

Chin@Strategy

A coordinated foreign influence campaign linked to the Chinese government is using social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s democratic system, according to researchers at a Canberra-based defence thinktank. The researchers believe the network is operating from within China and is either spreading disinformation about Australian politics or amplifying concerns about political scandals. They reference rape allegations made by the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and against the former attorney general Christian Porter, which he strongly denies. The network is believed to have about 30 active accounts so far, which…

China Tries to Play Down Balloon Dispute With Censorship and Memes

Chin@Strategy

On Chinese social media, jokes about the suspected spy balloon have been making the rounds. People quipped that the vessel was a misunderstood attempt at wishing Americans a happy Lantern Festival, the Chinese holiday this past Sunday. Others compared it to a glutinous rice ball, a traditional food eaten during the celebrations. The wisecracking was, in part, what happens on social media anywhere in the world: current events transformed to memes to attract likes and follows. But it also dovetailed with signs of a broader government strategy to downplay an…