Category: bytedance

Senate bill would block US companies from storing data in China

[ad_1] The changes could impact companies like Apple and TikTok. Per Chinese law, Apple began storing Chinese users’ iCloud accounts in a Chinese data center last year. Apple says it still controls encryption keys, but Hawley sees this as a national security threat. And like other senators, Hawley fears TikTok’s owner ByteDance could be pressured […]

TikTok’s owner may be readying a streaming music service

[ad_1] ByteDance is said to still be in talks with Sony, Universal and Warner to license their music catalogs for the service. However, it might arrive sooner than you think. It’s believed to be launching as early as December in countries like Brazil, India and Indonesia. Service in the US is also coming, the sources […]

TikTok’s parent company reportedly faces a national security review

[ad_1] Recently TikTok’s popularity has exploded worldwide, and so has scrutiny over the app’s parent company ByteDance and its relationship to the Chinese government. Now Reuters reports that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has opened a national security review of the company, because it had not sought approval to make […]

TikTok-owner Bytedance reveals its first smartphone

[ad_1] As we learned earlier this year, ByteDance acquired a bunch of Smartisan patents and talent. ByteDance then helped make the Nut Pro 3 and packed it with branded features. Apparently, it didn’t decide to change the naming scheme. Users will be able to launch Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — by swiping […]

Marco Rubio calls for TikTok review over censorship claims

[ad_1] TikTok allegedly asked its moderators to pull mentions of topics like the Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibet’s calls for independence and other content that challenges the Chinese government’s version of events. The service said it had retired the guidelines in May and that it had been using a “blunt approach” to minimizing drama on TikTok […]

TikTok reportedly censored videos critical of the Chinese government

[ad_1] The company lists Tiananmen square alongside other “incidents” such as the 1998 riots in Indonesia and the Cambodian genocide as topics that aren’t acceptable to broach. In other instances, the company attempted to censor its users by making Chinese topics acceptable. For example, one set of guidelines lists specific world leaders TikTok users can’t […]

TikTok offers in-app purchasing of sponsored products

[ad_1] Kroger became the first company to test out the new feature last week with their #TransformUrDorm challenge. TikTok users were asked to post before and after videos of their dorm makeovers. They were also invited to buy products such as a toaster and a popcorn maker through a dedicated Kroger brand page on the […]

TikTok’s parent company confirms plans for a smartphone

[ad_1] A division of the financial news publication Caijing claimed that a former Smartisan executive (Wu Dezhou) is leading the project, which reportedly began seven months ago. There’s a good chance you won’t see this phone outside of China when Smartisan is a niche brand even within the country. However, it’s a reflection of ByteDance’s […]

The company behind TikTok is reportedly launching a Spotify rival

[ad_1] ByteDance is already a player of sorts in this game with TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, which have been downloaded 500 million times. The apps have become surprisingly prominent in the music industry — for instance, “Old Town Road,” the current number one song, first developed a following on TikTok. In Asia, the […]