TikTok

January 19, 2025 10:45 AM

TikTok stops working for US users, disappears from Apple, Google stores

TikTok stopped working in the United States late on Saturday and disappeared from Apple and Google app stores ahead of a law that takes effect Sunday requiring the shutdown of the app used by 170 million Americans. President-elect Donald Trump said earlier in the day he would "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office on Monday, a promise TikTok cited in a notice posted to users on the app. TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, told users attempting t...

January 15, 2025 5:06 PM

TikTok executive alleges forced oath to support China’s “socialist system”

A former TikTok executive has alleged that she was required to pledge support for China's "socialist system" and national interests, as revealed in a lawsuit and documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Katie Puris, who served as TikTok's head of global brand and creative, claims in the lawsuit that her employer, along with its Chinese parent company ByteDance and subsidiary Douyin, discriminated against her on the basis of gender and age. Puris said that she was forced to sign a...

December 23, 2024 3:29 PM

Will Trump save TikTok?

The short answer is: We will know after 20 January. That's when he officially takes over as the U.S. President. Trump met the TikTok C.E.O. on 17 December. And this is what he had to say afterwards: “We'll take a look at TikTok. You know, I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points. And there are those that say that TikTok has something to do with it." Trump seems to have had a change of heart since his first term in office because in August 2020 it was Trump hi...

December 23, 2024 11:38 AM

Trump says it could be worth keeping TikTok in US for a little while

President-elect Donald Trump indicated on Sunday that he favored allowing TikTok to keep operating in the United States for at least a little while, saying he had received billions of views on the social media platform during his presidential campaign. Trump's comments before a crowd of conservative supporters in Phoenix, Arizona, were one of the strongest signals yet that he opposes a potential exit of TikTok from the U.S. market. The U.S. Senate passed a law in April requiring TikTok's Chine...

October 29, 2024 12:17 PM

Brazil institute sues social media giants for $525 mln over usage by minors

Brazil's Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights group, has filed two lawsuits demanding 3 billion reais ($525.27 million) from the Brazilian units of TikTok, Kwai and Meta Platforms for allegedly failing to create mechanisms to prevent indiscriminate use of these social media platforms by minors, according to initial petitions reviewed by Reuters. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Social media regulation has become a hot topic in Latin America's largest country after a months-long feud between X own...

September 13, 2024 5:14 PM

TikTok faces crucial court hearing that could decide fate in US

TikTok and parent company ByteDance face a key court hearing on Monday in a legal battle seeking to block a law that could ban the app used by 170 million Americans as soon as Jan. 19. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hold oral arguments on the legal challenge, putting the fate of Chinese-owned TikTok in the middle of the final weeks of the 2024 presidential election. Both Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are active on T...