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Financial disclosures show that members of Congress who voted for the so-called “TikTok ban” last week may own between $29 million and $126 million worth of stock in competing tech companies, according to data from Quiver Quantitative, a company that tracks congressional investments. Among the 352 members of the House of Representatives who voted “yes” on the bill, 44 reported they own shares of companies including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snap—all corporations that could stand to benefit if TikTok is forced…

The U.S. House passed a bill that would ban third-party data brokers from selling the user data of Americans to geopolitical adversaries like China and Russia. And while it still needs to pass the Senate to become law, it’s a step in the right direction as recent headlines mostly focus on a potential ban on TikTok in the U.S.Mourning the Loss of Addison Rae’s Debut Album | The Meme MachineThe Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, H.R. 7520, passed unanimously on Wednesday, 414-0, and would ban data…

But the platforms they thrived on have started to turn against them. Just a few weeks ago, WeChat and Douyin began suspending, removing, or restricting their accounts. While influencers on these platforms have been turning people’s anxiety into traffic and profits for a long time, the latest actions show how Chinese social platforms are trying to contain the damage before it goes too far.  The backlash started last month, as students angrily complained on social media about the superficiality of the courses, saying that…

The House voted this week to force TikTok’s parent company to sell the massively popular short-form video app, or face a U.S. ban. But a sale is most likely long off and could prove difficult for both owner, ByteDance, and Washington, D.C. The bill, called the “Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” goes to the Senate next, where its fate is unclear. Senate lawmakers have indicated they’ll move more slowly after the bill’s breakneck speed through the House. Senate Majority Leader Chuck…

Congressman Jeff Jackson’s latest TikTok video starts simply: “I apologize.” Last week, the House of Representatives passed a bill that could ultimately ban TikTok from the US. For many, it turned Jackson into enemy number one. The North Carolina Democrat spent the last year amassing 2.3 million followers on TikTok, leveraging the app to turn himself from a no-name first-term congressman to a downright internet celebrity. But Jackson joined 352 other House members in support of the so-called TikTok “ban,” sparking…

Does the Chinese government have officials inside TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, pulling the strings? And does the storing of data from the popular social media app outside of China protect Americans?These questions appear to dominate the current thinking in the U.S. over whether to ban TikTok if its owner, Chinese technology giant ByteDance, refuses to sell the platform.But in my opinion – forged through 40 years as a scholar of China, its political economy and business – both questions obscure a more interesting…

Another week, another concerted effort to ban TikTok in the US – except this time, it could actually happen. In this episode, Cherlynn and Devindra chat with Engadget Senior Editor Karissa Bell around the latest TikTok drama. The House passed a bill that could ultimately ban the company if ByteDance doesn’t sell it off within six months. It may face a tougher fight in the Senate, but if it’s approved there President Biden has said he’s willing to sign it into law.Is this a justified fight against the Chinese-owned social…

U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said on Monday that TikTok was a national security threat but also said that a ban on the popular app would hurt some kids and only strengthen Meta Platforms' Facebook, which the Republican has harshly criticized.Trump reiterated his concerns as lawmakers weigh a bill this week that would give TikTok owner ByteDance about six months to divest the popular short video app. The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on Wednesday on legislation that gives China's ByteDance a…

Donald Trump called into CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday where he talked about crypto, tried to defend his complete 180 on a TikTok ban, and promoted his new sneakers. The former president also railed against Facebook, calling it the “enemy of the people.” But there’s one thing Trump didn’t mention about Facebook: He’s still buying ads on the social media platform.Meta's Apparent Firing Goof“I consider Facebook to be an enemy of the people, along with a lot of the media,” Trump said on the show MondayTrump is still spending…

Bobby Kotick, the former CEO of Activision Blizzard whose employees famously started publicly shit-talking as soon as he was out the door, is reportedly looking for a new company to rule. Word on the street is that the company is TikTok.Mourning the Loss of Addison Rae’s Debut Album | The Meme MachineAccording to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Kotick approached several investors about forming a consortium of partners to buy TikTok if ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, agrees to (or is forced to) sell. The…