Is TikTok of any benefit to our society?

[FearlessRoar]

Online audiovisual industry expands fast with rural areas driving force

The market size of China's online audiovisual industry, which includes short videos and livestreaming, has surpassed 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) for the first time, with the majority of new users coming from rural areas, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The report, released at the China Online Audiovisual Conference in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, said that the market size of the online audiovisual industry, including long videos, short videos, livestreaming and audio, reached 1.1524 trillion yuan in 2023.

In 2022 and 2023, the number of online audiovisual users in rural China reached 299 million and 320 million, respectively, up12.6 percent and 6.8 percent year-on-year, far exceeding the growth rate of urban users during the same period.

Behind the colossal commercial scale are millions of professionals in related fields, highlighted by the fields of short videos and livestreaming in particular.

The report reveals that as of December 2023, the total number of short video accounts reached 1.55 billion, with 15.08 million professional streamers.

Major platforms update about 80 million short videos per day, with more than 3.5 million live broadcasts every day.

"The significant number of practitioners and the substantial market size are driving the online audio-visual sector to become a vital force in digital economic development," Li Nan, a Beijing-based short video business insider, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Moreover, livestreaming has shown outstanding performance in supporting e-commerce and cultural tourism development.

The report shows that 71.2 percent of users have purchased goods after watching short videos/livestreams, with 40.3 percent acknowledging that "short videos/livestreams have become their main consumption channel."

Furthermore, 44.4 percent of users frequently watch tourism/scenery-related short videos, up by 16.3 percent from 2022, while 27.9 percent of users "will travel to a certain destination because of watching short videos/livestreams."

In terms of short videos, micro-short dramas are becoming recognized by an increasing number of internet users as a platform for high-quality content creation and mainstream value dissemination.

As a form of drama with relatively short duration, typically ranging from a few minutes to a dozen minutes, micro-short dramas are characterized by concise narratives and simple plot structures, focusing on the climax and twists to attract audience attention.

This format often appears on social media platforms, short video applications and online streaming platforms, attracting viewers' attention due to its concise, easy-to-consume, and eye-catching characteristics.

According to the latest report, 39.9 percent of short video users frequently watch micro-short dramas, ranking second only to TV dramas/web dramas and movies/web movies, with 31.9 percent of users having paid for micro-short drama content.

Online audiovisual industry expands fast with rural areas driving force - Global Times

www.globaltimes.cn

 

[FearlessRoar]

1.1524 trillion yuan in 2023, that's huge buddy. Digital media is the present and future now.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

1.1524 trillion yuan in 2023, that's huge buddy. Digital media is the present and future now.

Don't tell this to Shahbaz Sharif otherwise he might also end up going there to ask for a loan.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Expert warns of 'chilling reality' TikTok threat poses: 'China's greatest asymmetric advantage'​

China’s "infiltration" of civil discourse in the United States poses an "immediate" threat to Democracy and is one of the "greatest threats we face today" in terms of national security, according to an expert on China.

"TikTok is not just a technological concern, it is not just a social media problem, TikTok is today China's greatest asymmetric advantage against America," Michael Sobolik, author of the new book "Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance," told Fox News Digital.

"It represents the most immediate threat to American democracy that the Chinese Communist Party poses."

China’s role in "infiltrating our civil discourse" through TikTok represents one of the "most important problem sets in US-China relations," Sobolik explained, because "you have about half of America on one app that the Chinese Communist Party controls, and they can manipulate public opinion and spread propaganda."
"It’s a huge problem."

Sobolik, a Senior Fellow in Indo-Pacific Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council, told Fox News Digital that 170 million Americans are on the social media platform with 150 million of them on the site for at least an hour a day. A large chunk of those users, Sobolik said, rely on the platform for news, which the Chinese government is using to its advantage.

"The Chinese Communist Party controls TikTok, because TikTok's parent company ByteDance is domiciled inside of China," Sobolik said. "As such, they must comply with any requests that they receive from Beijing to turn over U.S. user data, to censor content, or to boost content. They have no recourse of saying no to the CCP. There have already been documented instances of TikTok surveilling U.S. journalists to try to figure out who they were talking to inside of the company. ByteDance has already pledged its cooperation to work with Beijing to hone its algorithm to advance the CCP's interests."

Members of Congress have been debating over the past several months whether to ban TikTok in the United States or force the sale of the company to an entity outside of China. Opponents of the bills on the Republican side have argued that banning the popular social media app "goes against the First Amendment."

Sobolik flatly rejected that idea.

"None of this is a mystery," Sobolik said. "This is documented. There are instances of TikTok’s censoring content about Tibet, the Uyghurs, Tiananmen Square and other sensitive issues to the Chinese Communist Party. The concerns with TikTok have nothing to do with free speech. The concerns for TikTok are that an adversarial nation controls one of the biggest pillars of information in the United States today. And if you think that's only a theoretical concern, imagine if China goes to war with Taiwan. And then, as that is happening, floods TikTok with pro-CCP messages, with disinformation about what's happening, and tries to push a public opinion campaign that America should stay out and not do anything to help Taiwan."

"China has one of the strongest abilities to manipulate U.S. public opinion in its grasp today. This should be a chilling reality. This should send a shiver down the spines of every American."

Sobolik continued, "The content you see on TikTok may feel unique to you, but you are being fed content from an algorithm that is controlled by America's chief adversary. This is a Trojan horse inside of the United States, and it is high past time for members of Congress to take this seriously. To put the country first and to kick this Trojan horse out of America's walls. We cannot allow this app to continue to function under the control of the Chinese Communist Party."

"America has a gun pointed at its head every single day in the information realm. We have to take care of this issue and we must do it now. There are no constitutional concerns of any meaning here. This is a national security concern, and it is one of the greatest concerns that we face today."

It remains unclear whether Congress has the necessary political appetite to ban or dissolve TikTok, and Sobolik told Fox News Digital that he believes that question is "going to be one of the biggest tests for America."

"If we can fix this TikTok problem, that will be one of the most encouraging signs that we've seen in decades about our seriousness with protecting our liberty and our freedom and for opposing tyranny," Sobolik said. "If we let this problem go, if we don't fix it, we may as well go home and get out of the great power competition altogether.

"Because again, remember, protecting yourself is the bare minimum. Good defense might win NBA basketball championships, but good defense is the bare minimum. It's good housekeeping. You don't get a gold star for taking care of your own homeland. You get a gold star for going out in opposing authoritarian regimes. Cold wars are won by seizing the initiative and going on the offensive. If we cannot sever TikTok from CCP control, we have much bigger problems."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a TikTok spokesperson said "multiple media outlets have reported" that "there is not a shred of evidence" to the "outlandish claims" that TikTok is a vessel of the Chinese government.

"The reality is the ban bill would trample the First Amendment rights of 170 million Americans and devastate 7 million small businesses nationwide," the spokesperson said.

Expert warns of 'chilling reality' TikTok threat poses: 'China's greatest asymmetric advantage'

China expert Michael Sobolik spoke with Fox News Digital about the threat TikTok poses to the United States, which he wrote about in his book 'Countering China’s Great Game.'

www.foxnews.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

EU questions TikTok over new 'Lite' app in France, Spain​

The EU gave TikTok 24 hours to provide a risk assessment on its new 'Lite' app launched in France and Spain over concerns of its potential impact on children and users' mental health, the European Commission has said.

The new rewards app ‘TikTok Lite’ arrived in the two countries this month and allows users aged 18 and over to earn points that can be exchanged for goods like vouchers or gift cards.

The Commission said TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, should have carried out the risk assessment before deploying the app and now wants "more details".

The demand "concerns the potential impact of the new 'Task and Reward Lite' programme on the protection of minors, as well as on the mental health of users, in particular in relation to the potential stimulation of addictive behaviour", it said.

The commission said in a statement it also wants to know what measures the platform has put in place to mitigate the risks identified.

The request for information was made under a new content moderation law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which has stringent rules for 22 of the world's biggest online platforms including TikTok.

The demand is a first step in a procedure and does not mean TikTok will face further action. That would depend on what information the company gives to the EU.

Alongside the 24-hour deadline for the risk assessment, TikTok must provide the other information by 26 April, the commission said.

The company said it would honour the request.

"We have already been in direct contact with the Commission regarding this product and will respond to the request for information," a TikTok spokesperson said.

This is not the first time TikTok is in the European Union's crosshairs.

In February, Brussels opened a formal probe under the DSA into TikTok over alleged breaches of its obligations to protect minors online.

Its focus is especially on whether the company is doing enough to address negative impacts on young people.

The European Commission has made similar requests for information from TikTok over other issues including the risks to upcoming EU elections in June from artificial intelligence.

EU questions TikTok over new 'Lite' app in France, Spain

The EU gave TikTok 24 hours to provide a risk assessment on its new 'Lite' app launched in France and Spain over concerns of its potential impact on children and users' mental health, the European Commission has said.

www.rte.ie

 

[Cricket Warrior]

The House votes for possible TikTok ban in the US, but don’t expect the app to go away anytime soon

The House passed legislation Saturday that would ban TikTok in the United States if the popular social media platform’s China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year, but don’t expect the app to go away anytime soon.

The decision by House Republicans to include TikTok as part of a larger foreign aid package, a priority for President Joe Biden with broad congressional support for Ukraine and Israel, fast-tracked the ban after an earlier version had stalled in the Senate. A standalone bill with a shorter, six-month selling deadline passed the House in March by an overwhelming bipartisan vote as both Democrats and Republicans voiced national security concerns about the app’s owner, the Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.

The modified measure, passed by a 360-58 vote, now goes to the Senate after negotiations that lengthened the timeline for the company to sell to nine months, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress.

The House votes for possible TikTok ban in the US, but don't expect the app to go away anytime soon

The House has passed legislation that would ban TikTok in the U.S. if the social media platform’s China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year.

apnews.com

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Congress is finally set to approve a TikTok ban but it could still be years before it takes effect

TikTok’s fate in the U.S. has never been more in doubt after the House of Representatives approved a bill last weekend that gives its parent company two options: sell it to an approved buyer or see it banned.

Experts say the bill is now likely to be approved in the Senate, and President Joe Biden has signaled he would sign it.

But it could take years for the TikTok ban to actually go into effect, since its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, is likely to challenge the statute in court.

And even if it survives a legal challenge, no one is quite sure what would happen next.

It would probably be several years from now.

According to the statute’s language, ByteDance would have nine months to divest and find an American buyer for TikTok once the bill is signed into law.
On top of that, the president can push back the deadline by an additional 90 days.

That means, without a sale, the soonest TikTok could shut down in the U.S. would be more than one year from now.


NBC News

 

[JaDed]

Tiktok was needed for meta to get its house in order.
Reels and Ai are best things among meta product right now both came due to competition.

Unlike the chip and automobile companies Tiktok wasn’t even necessarily infringing any patents, they should be allowed to prosper but China can make no arguments due to their stupidity.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Blinken has steamed buns in China as furious Beijing stews over 'dangerous' $8billion U.S. aid package for Taiwan and bill that could lead to a TikTok ban​

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has touched down in China to soothe tensions with the nation, after Beijing called the Senate's approval of an $8billion aid package for Taiwan a 'dangerous situation.'

The package was part of a massive $95billion foreign aid bill that was passed by Congress last night, and is expected to be signed into law today by President joe Biden.

The Chinese government is also stewing over the legislation that will force TikTok to divest of its owner ByteDance and rejected allegations the app is a security threat.

The trip by President Joe Biden's top diplomat is aimed at ramping up pressure on China to drop its support for Russian in the Ukraine war.

But the late-night vote on the bill has added more friction to the already strained relations between Washington and Beijing.

China said the $8billion set aside to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the broader Indo-Pacific 'seriously violates' US commitments to China and 'sends a wrong signal to the Taiwan independence separatist forces'.

A spokesperson for the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office added that Taiwan's ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, which won a third four-year presidential term in January, is willing to 'become a pawn for external forces to use Taiwan to contain China, bringing Taiwan into a dangerous situation'.

Taiwan's president-elect Lai Ching-te told a visiting congressional delegation that the aid package would 'strengthen the deterrence against authoritarianism in the West Pacific ally chain' and 'help ensure peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and also boost confidence in the region'.

China and the United States are the major players in the Indo-Pacific and Washington has become increasingly alarmed by Beijing´s growing aggressiveness in recent years toward Taiwan and Southeast Asian countries with which it has significant territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

The U.S. has strongly condemned Chinese military exercises threatening Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province and has vowed to reunify with the mainland by force if necessary. Successive U.S. administrations have steadily boosted military support and sales for Taiwan, much to Chinese anger.

A senior State Department official said last week that Blinken would 'underscore, both in private and public, America´s abiding interest in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We think that is vitally important for the region and the world.'

In the South China Sea, the U.S. and others have become increasingly concerned by provocative Chinese actions in and around disputed areas.

In particular, the U.S. has voiced objections to what it says are Chinese attempts to thwart legitimate maritime activities by others in the sea, notably the Philippines and Vietnam. That was a major topic of concern this month when Biden held a three-way summit with the prime minister of Japan and the president of the Philippines.

On Ukraine, which U.S. officials say will be a primary topic of conversation during Blinken's visit, the Biden administration said that Chinese support has allowed Russia to largely reconstitute its defense industrial base, affecting not only the war in Ukraine but posing a threat to broader European security.

'If China purports on the one hand to want good relations with Europe and other countries, it can´t on the other hand be fueling what is the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War,' Blinken said last week.

China says it has the right to trade with Russia and accuses the U.S. of fanning the flames by arming and funding Ukraine. 'It is extremely hypocritical and irresponsible for the U.S. to introduce a large-scale aid bill for Ukraine while making groundless accusations against normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Tuesday.

On the Middle East, U.S. officials, from Biden on down, have repeatedly appealed to China to use any leverage it may have with Iran to prevent Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza from spiraling into a wider regional conflict.

He has spoken to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, several times urging China to tell Iran to restrain the proxy groups it has supported in the region, including Hamas, Lebanon´s Hezbollah, Yemen´s Houthis and Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.

The senior State Department official said Blinken would reiterate the U.S. interest in China using 'whatever channels or influence it has to try to convey the need for restraint to all parties, including Iran.'

The U.S. and China are also at deep odds over human rights in China´s western Xinjiang region, Tibet and Hong Kong, as well as the fate of several American citizens that the State Department says have been 'wrongfully detained' by Chinese authorities, and the supply of precursors to make the synthetic opioid fentanyl that is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.

China has repeatedly rejected the American criticism of its rights record as improper interference in its internal affairs. Yet, Blinken will again raise these issues, according to the State Department official.

Another department official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to preview Blinken's private talks with Chinese officials, said China had made efforts to rein in the export of materials that traffickers use to make fentanyl but that more needs to be done.

The two sides agreed last year to set up a working group to look into ways to combat the surge of production of fentanyl precursors in China and their export abroad. U.S. officials say they believe they had made some limited progress on cracking down on the illicit industry but many producers had found ways to get around new restrictions.

'We need to see continued and sustained progress,' the official said, adding that 'more regular law enforcement' against Chinese precursor producers 'would send a strong signal of China´s commitment to address this issue.'

China is also understood to be unhappy about the US bill's inclusion of a TikTok crackdown, which could lead to the video-sharing platform being banned in the US.

The foreign aid package includes several measures including TikTok divest from its Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance.

The House already passed a bill to force ByteDance to divest from TikTok, but the new catch-all legislation would give TikTok one year rather than six months to separate itself from China - or else be banned in the U.S.

TikTok has suggested the legislation amounts to a 'total ban in the United States,' hinting that ByteDance isn't interested in selling.

'It is unfortunate that the House of Representatives is using the cover of important foreign and humanitarian assistance to once again jam through a ban bill that would trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans, devastate 7 million businesses, and shutter a platform that contributes $24 billion to the U.S. economy, annually,' a TikTok spokesperson told DailyMail on Saturday.

Blinken touches down in China after Senate passed $8bn Taiwan aid

China said the $8billion set aside to counter Chinese threats in Taiwan and the broader Indo-Pacific 'seriously violates' US commitments to China and 'sends a wrong signal to Taiwan

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Cricket Warrior]

TikTok CEO expects to defeat US ban: 'We aren't going anywhere'

TikTok's chief executive said on Wednesday the social media company expects to win a legal challenge to block legislation signed into law by President Joe Biden that he said would ban its popular short video app used by 170 million Americans.

"Rest assured - we aren't going anywhere," CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a video posted moments after Biden signed the bill that gives China-based ByteDance 270 days to divest TikTok's U.S. assets or face a ban. "The facts and the Constitution are on our side and we expect to prevail again."

Biden's signing sets a Jan. 19 deadline for a sale - one day before his term is set to expire - but he could extend the deadline by three months if he determines ByteDance is making progress. Biden is seeking a second term against former President Donald Trump.

"We don't want to see a ban," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday. "This is about PRC ownership," she added, referring to the People's Republic of China.

In 2020, Trump was blocked by the courts in his bid to ban TikTok and Chinese-owned WeChat, a unit of Tencent (0700.HK), opens new tab, in the United States. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, has reversed course and said on Monday that Biden was "pushing" for a ban on TikTok and would be the one responsible if a ban were imposed, urging voters to take notice.

"Make no mistake - this is a ban on TikTok," Chew said, emphasizing that TikTok would continue to operate as the company challenges the restrictions.

Many experts question if any potential buyer has the financial resources to buy TikTok and if China and U.S. government agencies would approve a sale.

Driven by widespread worries among U.S. lawmakers that China could access Americans' data or surveil them with the app, the bill was overwhelmingly passed late on Tuesday by the U.S. Senate. The U.S. House of Representatives approved it on Saturday.

The four-year battle over TikTok is a significant front in a war over the internet and technology between Washington and Beijing.

Last week, Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab said China had ordered it to remove Meta Platforms' (META.O), opens new tab WhatsApp and Threads from its App Store in China over Chinese national security concerns.


Reuters

 

[FearlessRoar]

ByteDance says it won’t sell TikTok business in US​

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance said it will not sell the popular video sharing app to continue its business in the U.S. despite facing a potential ban under a law President Biden signed Wednesday.

The bill, included in a foreign aid package Biden signed, gives ByteDance up to a year to sell TikTok or be banned from operating in the U.S. The proposal was fueled by national security concerns raised by the supporters, who argued the Chinese government could compel TikTok to share U.S. user data.

It is the latest and most critical threat TikTok has faced in the U.S. yet — but the company is not backing down.

The company issued a statement on Toutiao, a news aggregation app ByteDance owns, dispelling a Thursday report by The Information that ByteDance was exploring options for selling TikTok in the U.S. without its algorithm, according to a copy of the statement reported by CNN.

“Foreign media reports that ByteDance is exploring the sale of TikTok are untrue,” ByteDance said in the statement.

“ByteDance doesn’t have any plan to sell TikTok,” it continued.

The Hill reached out to TikTok for comment.

Even if TikTok were purchased in the U.S., it would likely be different from the app users use today since Chinese export rules would regulate if the algorithm could be transferred, and the TikTok algorithm has been a key factor to its popularity among users.

The other route for TikTok to remain active in the U.S. is through a successful court case. TikTok announced Wednesday, immediately after Biden signed the law, that it would challenge it in court.

Other attempts to ban TikTok, both under the Trump administration and in states, have been blocked by courts.

ByteDance says it won’t sell TikTok business in US

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance said it will not sell the popular video sharing app to continue its business in the U.S. despite facing a potential ban under a law President Biden signed …

thehill.com

 

[FearlessRoar]

If the US bans TikTok, it will definitely affect their economy.

 

[JaDed]

If the US bans TikTok, it will definitely affect their economy.

How?

 

[FearlessRoar]

How?

Social media advertisements of companies in the US reach millions of users on TikTok

 

[JaDed]

Social media advertisements of companies in the US reach millions of users on TikTok

Yeah, and US has a lot of social media they will easily find a way around it.

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

TikTok gave birth to 'chhapris' in India and Pakistan but Instagram and Youtube adopted them and raised them. They should also be banned.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

China hints at retaliation after Biden signs Taiwan, TikTok legislation

China hinted on Monday that it could retaliate after U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law legislation to boost Taiwan's defences and seeks to get TikTok's Chinese owner to divest from the social media platform.

Biden signed the legislation on a military aid package on Wednesday, with most of the money going to Ukraine to help it fend off Russia's invasion and to Israel. He also signed a separate bill tied to the aid legislation that bans TikTok in the United States if its Chinese owner ByteDance fails to divest the app over the next nine months to a year.

Speaking in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian urged the United States not to implement the "negative, China-related" parts of the legislation.

"If the United States clings obstinately to its course, China will take resolute and forceful steps to firmly defend its own security and development interests," Lin said, without elaborating.

The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier even in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly demanded arms sales stop.


Reuters

 

[Red-Indian]

Tiktok was needed for meta to get its house in order.
Reels and Ai are best things among meta product right now both came due to competition.

Unlike the chip and automobile companies Tiktok wasn’t even necessarily infringing any patents, they should be allowed to prosper but China can make no arguments due to their stupidity.

The Chinese government has a 'Golden share' in Bytedance. I don't see how a sovereign country can allow a foreign government to run a Social media company collecting data about it's citizens. Too many long term implications.

It's not like the US is not allowing any Chinese owned companies in the States. This is a unique case.