TikTok

[RTH10260]

for technical stuff and company related

post clips elsewhere please

[RTH10260]

TikTok can track users’ every tap as they visit other sites through iOS app, new research shows
Researcher says social media app can collect keystroke information but ‘there is no way for us to know’ if or how data is used

Rafqa Touma
Wed 24 Aug 2022 05.45 BST

TikTok has the ability to track every tap of your screen while you browse in its iOS app, including typed passwords and clicked links, according to new research by software engineer Felix Krause.

In-app browsing refers to any activity on third-party sites that open in the app, rather than in an external window.

On Thursday, Krause released a report examining the JavaScript code social media platforms inject into third-party sites that allow it to track the activity of users.

Krause’s security tool, InAppBrowser.com, revealed the TikTok iOS app has the ability to monitor all keystrokes, text inputs and screen taps, which could include sensitive personal data like credit card information and passwords.

Krause noted, though, that “just because an app injects JavaScript into external websites, doesn’t mean the app is doing anything malicious”.

“There is no way for us to know the full details on what kind of data each in-app browser collects, or how – or if – the data is being transferred or used,” he said.



https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... arch-shows

[raison de arizona]

BREAKING: Republicans have introduced legislation to ban TikTok from operating in the U.S.

[raison de arizona]

UT blocks students from accessing TikTok

The University of Texas at Austin has barred access to the social media platform TikTok on its Wi-Fi network after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) banned the application from use on government devices.

The university told students in an email on Tuesday obtained by The Hill that it was taking the step to comply with Abbott’s December directive to “eliminate the cybersecurity risk posed by TikTok.”

“Today, the university blocked TikTok access on our networks,” the university said in the email. “You are no longer able to access TikTok on any device if you are connected to the university via its wired or WIFI networks.”

https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3 ... ng-tiktok/

[qbawl]

Sounds like a challenge doesn't it‽

[RTH10260]

Sounds like a challenge doesn't it‽

V.P.N.

[RTH10260]

Montana becomes first US state to ban TikTok
Greg Gianforte, the governor, signed legislation prohibiting mobile app stores from offering the video-sharing platform by next year

Dani Anguiano and agencies
Wed 17 May 2023 23.57 BST

Montana has became the first US state to ban TikTok after the governor signed legislation prohibiting mobile application stores from offering the app within the state by next year.

The move is among the most dramatic in a series of US escalations against TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance. TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny over its ties to China, amid concerns that such links could pose a national security threat.

The federal government, and more than half of US states, have prohibited the app on government devices and the Biden administration has threatened a national ban unless its parent company sells its shares.

The company has previously denied that it has ever shared data with the Chinese government and has said the company would not do so if asked.

TikTok said in a statement that the Montana bill “infringes on the first amendment rights of the people of Montana by unlawfully banning TikTok”, and that the company intends to “defend the rights of our users inside and outside of Montana”.




https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... an-montana

[RTH10260]

Montana TikTok users denounce ban: ‘We have terrible roads but they’re banning an app’
Young users question whether law tied to national security concerns will take effect in January as planned

Alaina Demopoulos
Fri 19 May 2023 11.00 BST

On Wednesday, a 30-year-old influencer named Kylie Nelson signed a deal with TikTok to promote the app on her page. A few hours later, she learned that the state of Montana had passed a law banning TikTok.

“Now I’m wondering: what do we do here?” said Nelson, who lives in Billings and is a full-time content creator. “About 60% to 70% of my brand collaborations are with TikTok. So, yeah, I’m pretty bummed out by the news.”

Nelson has over 206,000 TikTok followers and estimates that she will make about $60,000 through her influencing this year. Since she quit her job to become a content creator, most of her income relies on the app’s existence.

Lawmakers across the country have threatened to ban TikTok, but Montana became the first state to go through with the idea this week. Under the new rule, signed into law by the Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, mobile app stores are banned from offering the app to users starting next year.

Nelson is skeptical that the law will go into effect. “I’m going to believe it’s banned when it’s actually banned next January,” she said. “Until then, I’m going to talk with my talent agency and TikTok to come up with a full game plan.”

It is not just income Nelson stands to lose. Most of her posts give inspiration for mid-size fashion lovers, or people who fit into clothing larger than sizes 0-8 but smaller than a size 12. It’s one of the many niche groups that has found a platform on the app.

“The very first thing I thought about when I heard of the ban was the community of women that I’ve built,” Nelson said. “We’re supporting each other to feel confident in our clothes.”




https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... influencer

[raison de arizona]

Brought to you by the party of smaller government, ha!

[raison de arizona]

TikTok’s senior U.S. executive steps down, signaling major change
As TikTok’s chief operating officer, V Pappas helped guide its rise from an unknown video service to the world’s most popular social media app.

TikTok’s chief operating officer, V Pappas, stepped down Thursday after five years helping to transform what was once an obscure short-video service into one of the world’s most popular apps, signaling a potentially broader shift for the Chinese-owned tech giant as it faces a battle for survival in Washington.

Pappas was TikTok’s most senior executive in the U.S. and was interim chief before the hiring of TikTok’s current chief, Shou Zi Chew. Chew, who is based in Singapore, said in an email to employees Thursday obtained by The Washington Post that Pappas had stepped down “to refocus on their entrepreneurial passions.”

Chew also announced the promotion of TikTok chief of staff Adam Presser to head of operations and the hiring of a Disney veteran, Zenia Mucha, to become the company’s chief brand and communications officer. He said the changes were intended to “evolve” the organizational structure of the company, which says it now has more than 1 billion monthly active users around the world, including more than 100 million in the U.S.

Presser, a former WarnerMedia executive, will be responsible for global operations and has over the last year led the management of internal initiatives such as Project Clover, a data-security proposal in the European Union similar to the company’s U.S. effort, Project Texas, Chew said. Mucha was Disney’s top spokesperson for more than 20 years as the media empire devoured franchises such as Marvel, Lucasfilm and Pixar and opened its first theme park in China.

“This is a big moment for TikTok,” said Reuven Ashtar, chief executive of the creator management company Never Napping. “It signifies a shift that will get to the core of whether TikTok remains a creator hub and how it might move to embrace Hollywood and media.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technolo ... ok-resign/

[raison de arizona]

Texas TikTok Ban Challenged for Threatening ‘Academic Freedom’
A lawsuit filed on Thursday says Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban is compromising research and teaching at public universities.

A ban of TikTok on state devices and networks in Texas was challenged by First Amendment lawyers on Thursday, who said the law violated the Constitution by limiting research and teaching at public universities.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, whose members include Texas college professors who say their work was compromised after they lost access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi and university-issued computers.

The suit offers a glimpse into the real-world effect of bans targeting TikTok and the mounting legal pushback accompanying the efforts. Universities in more than 20 states have banned TikTok in some fashion, according to the institute, based on new rules from lawmakers who say TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, poses a national security threat.

The Knight First Amendment Institute, which works on free speech cases pro bono, wants Texas and other states to exempt university faculty from the bans.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/13/busi ... lenge.html

[RTH10260]

see also the 118th Congress thread about legislation to ban TikTok

Steven Mnuchin putting together investor group to buy TikTok
Ex-treasury secretary tells CNBC of plans a day after US House passes bill giving app’s owner six months to divest or face US ban

Reuters
Thu 14 Mar 2024 13.52 CET

Former US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin is putting together an investor group to try to buy TikTok, he told CNBC on Thursday.

His comment comes just a day after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would give the short-video app’s Chinese owner ByteDance about six months to divest the US assets or face a ban.

TikTok had called the bill a “ban” and urged senators to listen to their constituents before taking any action.

“I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Thursday. “It’s a great business and I’m going to put together a group to buy TikTok,” he said.

TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, said on Wednesday that the company will exercise its legal rights to prevent a ban.



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... buy-tiktok

[bill_g]

The 2A is sacrosanct, but the 1A? Meh. Not so much.

[Rolodex]

The 2A is sacrosanct, but the 1A? Meh. Not so much.

They don't even like the 5th amendment (due process). For people who claim to love the Constitution, they sure don't seem to like much that's in it.

[raison de arizona]

Steve Mnuchin is apparently putting a group together to buy TikTok (I'm not sure it is for sale.) I can think of few things I would like LESS than Mnuchin taking over TikTok, especially after what Elmo has done to Twitter. One can only imagine.

[Rolodex]

Steve Mnuchin is apparently putting a group together to buy TikTok (I'm not sure it is for sale.) I can think of few things I would like LESS than Mnuchin taking over TikTok, especially after what Elmo has done to Twitter. One can only imagine.

Where are the benevolent billionaires? Oprah? Tyler Perry? Princess kate? oh yeah we really don't know where she is

[pipistrelle]

I think I prefer China to Munchkin.

[Reddog]

I just got a cheap android phone, (to port landline # to, basically just going to be used for voicemail). Setting it up. I found that androids install a lot of apps. Tiktok being one of them, snapchat was another. Makes me think that every android had them installed by default.

[RTH10260]

I just got a cheap android phone, (to port landline # to, basically just going to be used for voicemail). Setting it up. I found that androids install a lot of apps. Tiktok being one of them, snapchat was another. Makes me think that every android had them installed by default.

Not "Android" installs the stuff, the phone maker that uses the Android platform decides what they want to ship with it.

Eg. like Samsung that ships with their own version "One" of modified user interface. I am so used to this that I grapple when I get presented with an original Android.

[tek]

We got rid of Windows95, but we didn't get rid of bloatware..

[raison de arizona]

Lots of BS here.

We need American innovation to take the lead on TikTok—not Communist China’s.

That’s the national security threat.

[raison de arizona]

Neat racket.

'I had Trump sign an order that TikTok had to be sold... It's a great business... I'm putting together a group to buy it. '

Missed this kind of blatant blurring of official power & personal profit?

Don't worry, you can vote it back into office.

[raison de arizona]

NSFW, more F-bombs than a sailer convention, but a nice summation of a young man's point of view on this topic.

► Show Spoiler

[sugar magnolia]

I've found my new boyfriend!

[John Thomas8]