The US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is advocating for legislation that would compel TikTok’s parent company, China’s ByteDance, to divest the popular short video app, citing security threats to the US, which include calling TikTok ‘America’s greatest strategic rival.’
Senate leaders are now considering bipartisan measures to address the situation, while TikTok insists it has never shared American user data with China and has invested heavily in protecting and storing US data domestically.
Why does it matter?
TikTok’s future is sparking heated debate in Washington, with national security and First Amendment concerns taking centre stage. McConnell’s involvement may rekindle efforts to pass legislation that could ban the app. Notably, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also views TikTok legislation as a critical November pre-election priority.
Malaysia has called upon social media giants Facebook operator Meta and short video platform TikTok to intensify monitoring efforts on their platforms due to a surge in harmful content, as reported by the government. In the first quarter of 2024 alone, authorities referred 51,638 cases to these platforms for further action, a significant increase from the 42,904 cases recorded last year. While specific details on the reported content were not disclosed, the move aims to combat disseminating harmful material online, particularly concerning sensitive topics like race, religion, and royalty.
According to statements from Malaysian regulatory bodies and police, the plea to Meta and TikTok also encompassed the need to address content indicative of coordinated inauthentic behaviour, financial scams, and illegal online gambling. Sensitivity surrounding race and religion in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim nation with significant ethnic Chinese and Indian populations, underpins the urgency of the government’s call. Additionally, Malaysia’s legal framework includes statutes prohibiting seditious remarks or insults directed at its monarchy, adding further weight to the push for online content regulation.
With European elections looming, mainstream politicians recognise the need to connect with voters on TikTok, a platform that fringe parties have effectively utilised. However, TikTok’s ties to China have raised red flags among security agencies in Germany and the United States, leading to calls for regulation or a ban.
Despite assurances from TikTok, scepticism remains high. Figures like Macron and Lauterbach are leveraging TikTok’s reach to connect with younger demographics alongside Simon Harris, Ireland’s prime minister-in-waiting. The rise of far-right parties on TikTok pressures politicians to engage without endorsing its authoritarian links.
Despite security concerns, politicians acknowledge TikTok’s effectiveness, especially in reaching beyond traditional media to shape political discourse among youth. According to a recent report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, fewer individuals rely on conventional media, while more are embracing TikTok as a news source.
Why does it matter?
Several nations have prohibited TikTok usage among government officials, yet its escalating significance as a news outlet, especially among younger demographics, demands scrutiny. Reuters’ findings revealed that TikTok experienced the most rapid growth among social networks, with 20% of individuals aged 18 to 24 utilising it for news consumption. Consequently, politicians in the UK and Belgium are strategically navigating around these constraints by using separate devices for TikTok, thereby securing their presence on the platform.
During a recent phone call, President Joe Biden conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping the United States’ desire for TikTok to change ownership. This move comes as Congress deliberates on outlawing the app unless it severs ties with its Chinese proprietors. According to National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby, Biden emphasised that the concern is not about banning TikTok outright but divesting ownership to safeguard national and data security interests.
President Biden’s backing of this bill is noteworthy, even though his election campaign leveraged TikTok as a tool to engage with young voters. However, the bill’s fate in the Senate remains uncertain, with some senators expressing reservations about the US government’s intervention in civil liberties and corporate ownership matters. The debate underscores the delicate balance between national security concerns and the principles of free enterprise and individual rights in the digital age.
TikTok is intensifying its focus on educational content amid mounting scrutiny in the US and the UK. The platform is rolling out its STEM feed across Europe, starting with the UK and Ireland, following its successful launch in the US last year. This dedicated feed, featuring science, technology, engineering, and mathematics content, will now be integrated alongside the main feeds for users under 18 and can be enabled by older users through the app’s settings. Since its US debut, one-third of teens regularly engage with the STEM feed, with a notable surge in STEM-related content production.
The expansion comes with enhanced measures to ensure content quality and reliability. Namely, TikTok is partnering with Common Sense Networks and Poynter to vet the content appearing on the STEM feed. Common Sense Networks will assess appropriateness, while Poynter will evaluate information reliability. Content failing these checks will not qualify for the STEM feed, aiming to provide users with credible educational materials.
By emphasising its educational initiatives, including the STEM feed, TikTok aims to position itself as a constructive platform for youth development, countering regulatory scrutiny and public concerns.
Why does it matter?
TikTok’s push for educational content aligns with its recent efforts to present a positive global image to lawmakers and stakeholders. The company has showcased the STEM feed in congressional hearings to refute accusations of harm to young users. Through initiatives like this, TikTok seeks to demonstrate its commitment to promoting learning and responsible content consumption while navigating regulatory challenges in multiple jurisdictions.
TikTok initiated removal of Universal Music Publishing Group’s (UMPG) songs due to unsuccessful license renewal negotiations. Following the expiration of their licensing agreement on 31 January, TikTok, while retaining the videos, has begun silencing videos featuring songs from artists associated with UMPG.
The new policy implies that TikTok will need to exclude any music where UMPG songwriters have contributed, irrespective of the main label. This expands the impact beyond UMG-associated artists, affecting others as well—if a UMPG-affiliated songwriter contributed to a song by another label, even minimally, TikTok will be obliged to remove it from its platform.
Despite UMPG’s claim of negligible impact on its revenue, the new changes will adversely impact artists and songwriters who will lose promotion opportunities as the platform is known for enabling music discovery. Artists also stand to potentially lose out on royalty earnings on the platform. UMG recognizes these consequences but maintains its commitment to securing a new deal that justly compensates its artists.
According to Indonesia’s minister for small-medium enterprises (SMEs), Teten Masduki, TikTok continues to disregard Indonesia’s prohibition on in-app transactions. The minister stated, “The trade minister has to reprimand TikTok so that it complies with the regulation, if not then … the government’s authority is undermined.”
This comes after social media company gained control of the country’s largest e-commerce platform, Tokopedia, at $840 million, in order to relaunch its online shopping operations after a ban was imposed last year. TikTok Shop, the e-commerce service of the company, was forced to shut down in Indonesia due to the country’s ban on social media platform-based online shopping in the country’s attempt to safeguard the interests of smaller merchants and protect user data.
It remains to be seen how social media giant circumvents the increasing pressure to comply with legal requirements. With its 125 million user base in Indonesia, the country is an important market that can potentially generate substantial e-commerce revenue.
The European Union will conduct an investigation into potential violations of online content regulations by ByteDance’s TikTok, with a focus on safeguarding children and ensuring transparent advertising. EU industry chief Thierry Breton stated that this decision was made after reviewing TikTok’s risk assessment report and its responses to information requests.
The Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union mandates that major online platforms and search engines must tackle illegal content and mitigate risks to public security. As such, the investigation will focus on issues like TikTok’s system design, particularly its algorithmic systems that may encourage addictive behaviours and create ‘rabbit hole effects.’ Additionally, it will also be assessed whether TikTok has implemented adequate and proportionate measures to ensure the privacy, safety, and security of minors. In addition to minors’ protection, the Commission will also be examining whether social media company provides a dependable database of advertisements on its platform to enable researchers to analyse potential online risks.
This investigation puts the social media platform at risk of significant penalties. Social media’s parent company, ByteDance, may face fines of up to 6% of its global revenue if TikTok is found to be in violation of DSA regulations. TikTok’s spokesperson has stated their commitment to collaborating with the process and added how the company has been at the forefront of developing features and settings to protect teenagers and prevent children under the age of 13 from accessing the platform, a challenge that the entire industry is currently confronting.
TikTok, owned by the Chinese tech firm ByteDance, has now introduced its e-commerce service, TikTok Shop, in the United States. The company has introduced a Shop Tab feature that displays products from its marketplace to 40 per cent of its app users. The feature will be gradually rolled out to all of the app’s 150 million US users by early October. This update enables users to explore and purchase products directly within the app, offering a new shopping experience on TikTok.
TikTok Shop enables users to purchase products featured in live streams and short videos directly. In addition, it is introducing an e-commerce feature that will provide content creators with fresh revenue streams by matching them with relevant brands for commission-based marketing collaborations. The platform’s “Fulfilled by TikTok” program, which includes storage, packing, and shipping, is also available to sellers.
Initially, TikTok’s e-commerce service was introduced in Indonesia in 2021 and has since expanded to the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its entry into the US e-commerce sector is noteworthy as it aligns with the company’s broader strategy to attract tech-savvy young consumers while diversifying its sources of revenue.
A former TikTok content moderator in Kenya, James Oyange Odhiambo, has alleged that he developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to his work and was unfairly dismissed for advocating for better working conditions.
The law firm representing Odhiambo has sent a letter to TikTok’s parent company ByteDance and the outsourcing company Majorel threatening a lawsuit if their demands are not met within two weeks. The letter alleges that content moderators were, at times, required to watch between 250 and 350 disturbing and violent videos per hour without adequate mental health support. A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment on the accusations made in the letter. ByteDance did not respond to Time’s request for comment.
