FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr wrote to Apple and Google on Tuesday, requesting the companies to remove TikTok from their app stores for “its pattern of surreptitious data practices.” This comes after BuzzFeed News reported last week that TikTok’s staff in China had access to US-ba…
Influencers peddling medical, financial advice now need certification, China says
China has taken another step to regulate how online influencers impart information to their followers. The government has put a great deal of effort into moderating digital content over the years. The rise of more real-time media formats, like livestreaming and snappy video sharing, has made it har…
Layoffs hit crypto and real estate tech particularly hard this week
Hey Siri, when does a “macroeconomic downturn” become a “recession”? It’s another bleak week for startups weathering dismal tech stocks and even worse cryptocurrency prices. But let’s start with some good news: your children can get vaccinated against COVID-19! B…
In all-hands Twitter call, Elon Musk fields questions about free speech and bots
As Elon Musk addressed Twitter employees for the first time in an all-hands Q&A meeting, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO provided some more details about his plans for the social platform. When Musk first announced his bid to buy Twitter for $44 billion, he proposed the idea of “authenticating a…
Amid growing concerns around app addiction, TikTok rolls out more screen tools
TikTok users regularly complain of hours lost on the platform, thanks to the video app’s unmatched ability to distract, entertain and engage users by way of its advanced recommendation technology. Its addictive nature has been the subject of numerous psychological studies and parents’ c…
TikTok found to fuel disinformation, political tension in Kenya ahead of elections
TikTok content moderators' unfamiliarity with the political context in Kenya is among the reasons why some of the inflammatory posts were not taken down.
TikTok is gearing up for games, including interactive minigames for TikTok LIVE
TikTok is already one of the world’s fastest-growing social media platforms, where it’s even overtaken YouTube on watch time in select markets and sports over 1 billion monthly active users. Now, the company is looking to expand the range of activities its users can do when they tire of…
TikTok launches its first creator crediting tool to help video creators cite their inspiration
After years of stolen memes and uncredited dance trends, TikTok today is introducing a new feature that it says will be the first iteration of its creator crediting tools that allow creators to directly tag and credit others using a new button during the publishing process. This button lets creator…
Google’s Flutter 3 adds support for macOS and Linux desktop apps
At its I/O developer conference, Google today announced the launch of Flutter 3, the latest version of its open-source, multiplatform UI development framework for building natively compiled applications. It’s been about four years since the company first launched a beta of Flutter 1.0. At the…
Walmart is acquiring Memomi, an AR startup powering virtual try-on for eyewear
Walmart is expanding its array of virtual try-on services for shoppers with today’s news that it’s planning to acquire Memomi, an AR optical tech company and current Walmart partner offering virtual try-on experience for eyewear. Deal terms were not disclosed, but Memomi has enabled dig…