TikTok

Every self-respecting app has a dark mode, so why should TikTok be any different? Especially given that it's the sort of app you could end up scrolling through endlessly at 2 a.m. in the morning. Any respite from that blinding white interface is likely to be welcomed by your poor bleary eyes, which is why it's always a good idea to turn on TikTok's Dark mode. That said, it's worth noting ...

TikTok on Tuesday was targeted by EU consumer protection groups for allegedly violating the bloc's consumer laws and for failing to protect children from hidden advertising and inappropriate content (via Reuters). The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) lodged a complaint against the short video-sharing app with the European Commission, citing several issues in its complaint, one of which...

TikTok has launched its first augmented reality effect to make use of the LiDAR technology present in iPhone 12 Pro devices (via TechCrunch). To ring in 2021 we released our first AR effect on the new iPhone 12 Pro, using LiDAR technology which allows us to create effects that interact with your environment - visually bridging the digital and physical worlds. We're excited to develop more ...

The Department of Justice this week formally appealed a judge's order that blocks restrictions on TikTok by the U.S. government, according to a new court filing, in a continuation of the Trump administration's campaign against the short-form video sharing platform (via CNN). Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued an order blocking the Department of Commerce's...

Apple is offering TikTok users a four-month free trial of Apple Music to newcomers of the streaming service. As spotted by ApplePost and Apple Terminal, the deal is available to new subscribers through the short-form video sharing app, and offers an additional month on top of Apple's normal three-month free trial for new subscribers. The promotion runs through January 4, 2021, and the...

A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration's attempt to ban new downloads of TikTok in the United States, the latest defeat in the White House's efforts to outlaw the app in the country (via TechCrunch). President Trump in August signed an executive order that would officially ban any U.S. transactions with TikTok if its Chinese parent ByteDance did not reach a deal to divest ...

ByteDance's deadline to divest itself of social media app TikTok has elapsed, but talks are set to continue with the U.S. government about a sale without another deadline extension, according to reports. Last month, ByteDance was granted a seven-day extension on an order from the Trump administration to sell the short-form video sharing platform. The deadline passed on December 5, but...

TikTok owner ByteDance has been granted a seven-day extension on an order from the Trump Administration to sell the short-form video sharing platform (via Reuters). The administration had previously granted ByteDance a 15-day extension of the order issued in August, which was set to expire Friday. President Trump on August 14 directed ByteDance to divest the app within 90 days. According...

A federal judge on Sunday granted TikTok a preliminary injunction that temporarily halts an order from the Trump Administration that would have banned new app downloads in the United States beginning on Monday, reports The New York Times. Should the order have gone into effect, Apple and Google could have been forced to remove TikTok from their respective app stores, and users who already...

Just hours before new app downloads would be banned in the United States, Vanessa Pappas, the interim head of TikTok, announced on Saturday that the company has reached a proposal with Oracle and Walmart that will keep the video sharing platform alive in the country. The deal has also been approved by President Donald Trump, reports Bloomberg. The deal will effectively establish a new...

The U.S. Commerce Department is moving to ban downloads of TikTok and WeChat within the United States from this Sunday (via Reuters). The U.S. Commerce Department plans to issue an order today that will "deplatform" WeChat and TikTok by banning people in the United States from downloading the apps. The order will take effect from Sunday, September 20. U.S. government officials speaking...

Amid reports Monday morning that Oracle has won the battle with Microsoft to acquire TikTok's U.S. operations, China's state-run English TV channel is claiming that no sale with any U.S. buyer will go ahead (via Reuters). ByteDance will not sell TikTok's U.S. operations to Oracle Corp ORCL.N or Microsoft Corp MSFT.O and will not give the source code for the video platform to any U.S. buyers,...

Oracle has expressed serious interest in acquiring TikTok, according to the Financial Times. Oracle reportedly has already held preliminary talks with TikTok's China-based parent company, Bytedance, to explore the terms of an acquisition. Oracle is also believed to be working with venture capital firms including General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital to raise funds for a bid. Serious...

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order giving ByteDance 90 days to sell its TikTok business in the United States, citing evidence of possible national security threats from the China-based company. In the order, the Trump Administration said there's "credible evidence" to suggest that ByteDance "might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United...

A new document outlining the potential scope of President Trump's TikTok ban suggests Apple could be forced to remove the short-form video sharing platform from its App Store in China. Trump last week signed an executive order that would officially ban any U.S. transactions with TikTok if its Chinese parent ByteDance does not reach a deal to divest it to a U.S. company in 45 days....

TikTok plans to sue the Trump administration as soon as this week, challenging the president's recent executive order to ban the short-form video sharing platform from the United States. According to a source who spoke to NPR, TikTok will file a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Southern California, where its American operations are based, as early as Tuesday. NPR has learned...

Amid an impending ban on U.S. operations of TikTok, Twitter has expressed interest in acquiring the service, according to a new report from The Wall Street Journal. The report explains that it is not immediately obvious why Twitter is interested in purchasing TikTok, given the cost of acquisition and the need for substantial restructuring. Twitter's comparatively small size would, however, ...

President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders that would officially ban any U.S. transactions with the Chinese companies that own TikTok and WeChat, in an escalation of the ongoing technological cold war between the two countries. The executive orders would prohibit "any transaction by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,"...

The U.S. government is stepping up efforts against Chinese technology companies as it prepares to purge App Stores of "untrusted" Chinese apps, reports Reuters. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. "Clean Network" program would focus on five areas and include steps to prevent various Chinese apps and telecoms companies from accessing the sensitive information of American citizens...

Instagram has today officially launched "Reels," a new short-form video service set to rival TikTok, in over 50 countries, including the U.S., India, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and the U.K. Reels is part of the Instagram camera of the existing Instagram app. Instagram says that Reels are "a new way to create and discover short, entertaining videos." The service features the...

Apple has expressed interest in purchasing video-sharing social media platform TikTok, according to a newsletter snippet from Axios' Dan Primack:Multiple sources tell me that Apple has expressed interest, albeit no sources inside of Apple, and that at least one other strategic has expressed interest. Yes, it would be an unusual deal for Apple, given that TikTok is a cross-platform app, and a...