Fact: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has joined TikTok, the short video social media platform owned by China-based tech giant ByteDance, ahead of the U.S. elections in November.
Telegram had 41 million EU users in the six months to February, below the DSA’s 45 million threshold for being labeled as a very large online platform (VLOP) with stricter obligations.
The text discusses the concept of tall poppy syndrome, which refers to tearing down successful individuals or ventures. It also mentions Canada’s widening productivity gap, with Canadian workers producing 71% of the GDP per hour produced by U.S. peers in 2022. Additionally, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced an increase in capital gains taxes.
Two key U.S. lawmakers reached a deal on draft bipartisan data privacy legislation that would restrict the data collected by technology companies and give Americans control over their personal information. The legislation would also allow individuals to prevent the selling of their personal data and compel its deletion. The bill would give the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general authority to oversee consumer privacy issues and establish enforcement mechanisms. The legislation does not ban targeted advertising but gives consumers the ability to opt out of it. The bill also includes provisions for fines for privacy violations and annual reviews of algorithms to ensure they do not harm individuals.
Simon Harris, Ireland’s prime minister-in-waiting, has embraced TikTok to connect with younger voters, despite security concerns about the Chinese-owned platform. European politicians like French President Macron and German Health Minister Lauterbach have also joined TikTok to reach a wider audience. Mainstream parties are feeling pressured to engage with TikTok to prevent fringe parties like the AfD from dominating the platform. Concerns about data privacy and influence from China persist, but politicians are finding ways to use TikTok effectively while addressing these issues.
Chinese e-commerce vendors selling on TikTok Shop in the U.S. are upset by the platform’s tighter enforcement of rules for overseas sellers. TikTok now requires U.S. entities registered by sellers to be 51% U.S. owned and chaired by a U.S. passport holder, putting Chinese sellers at a disadvantage compared to U.S. sellers. TikTok has not changed its policies for international sellers since introducing TikTok Shop in the U.S. in September 2023.
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, reported a revenue of about billion from TikTok in the United States last year. ByteDance’s total revenue in 2023 was 0 billion, marking a 40% increase from the previous year. TikTok, which is used by about 170 million Americans, saw record sales in the United States in 2023. ByteDance is anticipated to surpass Meta Platforms as the world’s largest social media company by sales. Meta’s revenue in 2023 increased by 16% to 4.90 billion. The US House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to a ban on TikTok if ByteDance does not divest its US assets within six months. TikTok was the most downloaded social media app in the United States in 2023, with 47 million downloads, followed by Facebook and Instagram with 35 million and 34 million downloads, respectively.