After a year of laying low, ByteDance’s crown jewel faces a serious new threat

Presidential candidate Donald Trump raised concerns about banning TikTok ahead of a vote next week by the U.S. House of Representatives that would give TikTok owner ByteDance about six months to divest the popular short video app.

The former Republican president said: "If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook ... will double their business," and added he does not want Facebook "doing better."

Das große Bild: Ein wichtiger Ausschuss des Repräsentantenhauses stimmte am Donnerstag einstimmig für eine parteiübergreifende Gesetzgebung, die die chinesische Muttergesellschaft von TikTok, ByteDance, dazu zwingen würde, ihre Anteile an der App innerhalb von 165 Tagen zu veräußern. Die Kongressmitglieder wurden mit Anrufen verärgerter Wähler überschwemmt, nachdem TikTok seinen Nutzern mitgeteilt hatte, dass die beliebte Social-Media-App in den USA von der Schließung bedroht sei. Das Weiße Haus hat angedeutet, dass Präsident Biden das Gesetz unterzeichnen würde.

Copycat video feature Reels helps Meta app in fightback against Chinese-owned rivalInstagram has overtaken TikTok as the world’s most downloaded app after its copycat video feature Reels helped it recover ground lost to its Chinese-owned rival.The photo- and videosharing app soared in popularity after its launch in 2010 alongside reality royalty such as the Kardashians and is a cornerstone of the influencer phenomenon, but has faced stiff competition on its own territory in recent years from TikTok, the short video platform.

TikTok, the massively popular mobile viral video platform, has gone on the offensive to stop Congress from implementing a "total ban on TikTok." Users in the U.S., which account for more than 170 million monthly active TikTok users, were served a pop-up message on Thursday urging them to call their representatives in Congress to voice their opposition to a bill that would ban the app in the U.S.

A year ago, TikTok introduced a new way for creators on the platform to make money: make longer videos.

The top 25% of U.S. adults on TikTok by posting volume produce 98% of all publicly accessible videos from this group.
TikTok use is especially prevalent among younger adults – 56% of all U.S. adults ages 18 to 34 say they use the platform. But 52% of users in this age group have posted a video to their account. Also, the typical TikTok user does not customize their profile.

Zahl des Tages: Über 37 Stunden monatlich verbringen deutsche TikTok-User mit der App, sagt der Digital Report 2024 von We Are Social.

Der Digital Report 2024 von We Are Social und Meltwater zeigt auf, dass die Social-Media-Nutzung in Deutschland leicht zurückgegangen ist.

Most of the content on TikTok comes from the same, small group of users.

The European Commission opened formal proceedings against TikTok under the Digital Services Act on Monday (19 February), due to possible breaches in several areas, including child protection.

Die EU-Kommission leitet ein Verfahren gegen Tiktok wegen der möglichen Gefährdung von Kindern und Jugend­lichen ein, schreibt EU-Kommissar Thierry Breton bei X. Dabei gehe es u.a um das süchtig machende Design der App und den Rabbit-Hole-Effekt. Grundlage ist das EU-Gesetz für digitale Dienste, der Digital Services Act.

Die Podcaster Philip Hopf und Kiarash Hossainpour sollen auf TikTok Verschwörungstheorien verbreitet haben. Die Plattform reagiert mit einer Sperre.

Why Taylor Swift, Drake, and Bad Bunny have been muted on TikTok dance videos.

ByteDance's TikTok has lost its bid to suspend its designation as a gatekeeper, which makes it subject to onerous obligations under EU rules, after Europe's second top court dismissed its request because it failed to show the urgency for such a move.

The European Commission will open an investigation into TikTok in the coming weeks over concerns that changes the firm made to comply with the bloc's Digital Services Act (DSA) were not enough to protect under-age users, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

TikTok says UMG 'has put their own greed above the interests of their artists and songwriters'

Tracks from some of the biggest stars in the world will no longer be available in the app starting Feb.

TikTok may have been the world’s top app by downloads and consumer spending in 2023, but it was not the top by actual usage.