THE DAILY STAR - June 10 - Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) confirmed that a transnational gang involving some Bangladeshis has been trafficking young girls, using the social networking platform TikTok, and forcing them into sex work in India. This incident has proven just how unsafe online spaces can be for children and young people who are not well-versed in navigating such spaces. The authorities must launch a long-term and comprehensive awareness program to target this knowledge gap, ensuring that not only children and young people but also their guardians are aware of the pitfalls of the Internet, the potential of being "groomed" by online friends, and the importance of protecting their privacy online.
154 posts categorized "TikTok"
TikTok Trafficking Ring a Sign of Risky Digital Spaces
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Biden Drops Plan to Ban TikTok
AFP - June 10 - President Joe Biden revoked executive orders from his predecessor Donald Trump seeking to ban Chinese-owned mobile apps TikTok and WeChat over national security concerns. Instead of banning the popular apps, the Biden administration would carry out a "criteria-based decision framework and rigorous, evidence-based analysis to address the risks" from internet applications controlled by foreign entities.
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Rumors Continue That TikTok Wants to Break Into Recruitment
EXECUTIVE GRAPEVINE - Jun 8 - TikTok is continuing to test out software that would facilitate a move into the recruitment market. Initial reports that the platform was looking to create a tool for brands to recruit employees were revealed by an anonymous employee in an Axios report. Whilst the rumored new product will apparently not be a part of the current TikTok platform itself, it will be accessible via a separate page directed through the app, where brands can post jobs emphasizing appealing to Gen-Z.
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TikTok's Updated Privacy Policy May Let It Collect Users' Biometric Data
MASHABLE - June 7 - TikTok has updated its U.S. privacy policy to make clear that it might collect users' biometric information. TikTok now makes it clear that it may collect users' images and audio to enable filters and video effects, allow it to moderate content, and "for other non-personally-identifying operations." TikTok also states it may use this information to determine demographics and to help it recommend content and ads.
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EU Moves Against TikTok Over Child-targeted Ads
DW - May 31 - The European Commission has given TikTok one month to respond to allegations it failed to protect children from aggressive advertising on its platform. The Commission said "hidden marketing, aggressive advertising techniques targeted at children, and certain contractual terms in TikTok's policies" were of "specific concern." It added that some terms in TikTok's "Terms of Service" could be considered misleading and confusing.
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TikTok Is Promoting Homophobic and Transphobic Content
THE HILL - May 26 - A new report found that TikTok can even tell if users are homophobic - and will promote anti-LGBTQ content. The media watchdog reviewed and tracked the videos TikTok recommended after liking anti-LGBTQ+ content, seeing the same content fed back to the account through the "For You" page. The company expanded a hate speech ban in October, but media watchdogs say the problem persists.
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SiriusXM Partners With TikTok on A New Music Channel, Pandora Playlists, and More
TECH CRUNCH - May 25 - SiriusXM is leaning into TikTok. The satellite radio company and Pandora parent partner with TikTok to power several new initiatives, including a TikTok channel on SiriusXM, hosted TikTok playlists on Pandora, and re-airings of Pandora LIVE events on TikTok. Starting today, popular TikTok creators will curate, host, and promote their own Pandora playlists to their fans on TikTok, starting with Bella Poarch.
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Founder of ByteDance Resigns as CEO
THE VERGE - May 21 - ByteDance's CEO has announced he's stepping down from his role leading the company, whose success with TikTok led it to become the world's most valuable startup. Zhang Yiming, who co-founded ByteDance in 2012, will move to another position at the company, and fellow co-founder Liang Rubo will become the new CEO. Liang presently runs HR at ByteDance.
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TikTok Launches Tools to Bulk Delete and Report Comments, Block Users
TECH CRUNCH - May 21 - TikTok launched new tools that will allow creators to bulk delete comments and block users instead of moderate comments one by one. TikTok says the new feature is rolling out first to Great Britain, South Korea, Spain, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Thailand, and will continue to expand to other markets globally in the weeks to come, including the U.S.
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TikTok Users Are Most Likely to Make a Purchase Through the App
DIGITAL INFORMATION WORLD - May 20 - TikTok launched a feature that allowed creators to tag brands directly in videos from which a certain product or clothes in the video was bought, tapping on to take users directly to the link from which that same thing could be bought. Half of the millennials said they purchased a brand from the video platform, and 53% of Gen Z said the same, and this good news for the platform because, with the usage of this feature, more advertisers will be interested in marketing TikTok.
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AU Partners With TikTok to Celebrate Africa Day Through Digital Campaign
CGTN AFRICA - May 19 - The African Union (AU) Commission announced a half-month-long partnership with TikTok to celebrate Africa Day through a digital campaign. The campaign, which will mainly feature a digital campaign titled "I Am African," will bring together the AU's youth division within the Women, Gender, and Youth Directorate and partners, including TikTok, to celebrate Africa Day 55-member pan Africa bloc. This year's edition of the campaign calls on users to creatively express their views on what makes them proudly African across various categories.
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TikTok Helps Businesses to Promote on the Internet
BUSINESS MATTERS - May 18 - Retailers' goal on TikTok is to get a young audience. According to official figures, 41% of TikTok accounts are between 16-24 years old. Content creation on TikTok is less expensive than on other social networks, says the Marketing Director of Allo Group. The managing partner of Prcom previously stated that when generating cool content on the platform, the audience quickly gathers and grows much easier than other social networks. A tool named Gen Z Career Service is tested, and soon it will help brands hire new employees.
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Tiktok Sued Viral Text-to-speech Feature Voice on Social Network
INSIDE WALES SPORT - May 17 - Ontario actress Bev Standing claims that the voice used for the text-to-speech feature on TikTok is hers. However, she claims that the social network has not been given the right to use it. The tool that has gone viral is repeating "Rough and offensive language," and its use by TikTok a. is "irreparable damage."
by Tad Fisher
See full article at Inside Wales Sport
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TikTok Removes 500k+ Accounts in Italy After DPA Order to Block Underage Users
TECH CRUNCH - May 13 - TikTok has removed ~500k accounts in Italy following an intervention by the country's data protection watchdog ordering it to recheck the age of all Italian users and block access to any under the age of 13. TikTok has also agreed to take a series of additional measures to strengthen its ability to detect and block underage users.
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TikTok Launches A Green Screen Duet Feature and Tests Dedicated 'Topics' Feeds
TECH CRUNCH - May 13 - TikTok is rolling out a series of new features to help keep its app ahead of rivals. The company launches a Green Screen Duet feature, which combines two of TikTok’s most popular editing tools to allow creators to use another video from TikTok as the background in their new video. It also confirmed the test of a new way to discover videos called "Topics." These are dedicated interest-based feeds featuring the top trending videos in a given category.
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