The appeal, filed on Monday, December 16, aims to prevent a federal court ruling earlier this year that requires TikTok parent ByteDance to sell its US arm or face a national ban.

While the Supreme Court has not yet disagreed or agreed to the requested injunction against the law, it will now listen to arguments on the matter on January 10.

“We believe the Court will find the TikTok ban unconstitutional so the over 170 million Americans on our platform can continue to exercise their free speech rights,” a TikTok spokesperson said to the BBC.

On the same day as the appeal was made, President-elect Donald Trump met TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, according to reports from CBS News.

Trump publicly opposed the ban and said in a press conference on Monday that he would “take a look at TikTok”.

“I have a warm spot in my heart for TikTok because I won youth by 34 points,” he said. “There are those that say TikTok has something to do with that. TikTok had an impact.”

His term would begin a day after the potential ban, on 20 January 2025.

The bill introducing the law said the ban would “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary-controlled applications”.

It follows alleged links between TikTok owner ByteDance and the Chinese state, though the social media firm has denied this.

The firm unsuccessfully requested that the law be delayed through a request to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week. This week, the firm is asking the Supreme Court to temporarily block the ban.

“The act will shutter one of America’s most popular speech platforms the day before a presidential inauguration,” TikTok said in a court filing.

“This, in turn, will silence the speech of applicants and the many Americans who use the platform to communicate about politics, commerce, arts, and other matters of public concern.”

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The decision, which represents a significant escalation in the years-long standoff between TikTok and the US government, marks a pivotal moment in the platform’s operations in one of its largest markets.

ByteDance now has until 19 January 2025 to comply with the ruling. If it fails, the app will no longer be available in the United States, potentially cutting off its 170 million American users — roughly half the country’s population.

TikTok has vowed to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, arguing that the law infringes on free speech rights and unfairly singles out the platform.

A spokesperson for TikTok described the ruling as being based on “inaccurate, flawed, and hypothetical information,” warning that a ban would “silence the voices of over 170 million Americans.”

This legal and political battle has its roots in longstanding US national security concerns. Lawmakers argue that TikTok’s Chinese ownership poses a risk, suggesting that Beijing could exploit the platform to collect data on American users or manipulate its algorithms to influence public opinion.

Critics point out that no evidence has been presented to show that ByteDance or the Chinese government has engaged in such activities.

The company argues that it operates independently of Chinese government influence, pointing to its operational headquarters in Singapore and Los Angeles and its data-handling partnership with US-based Oracle.

“TikTok’s millions of users will need to find alternative media of communication,” said Judge Douglas Ginsburg, who penned the appeals court decision. He added that the burden placed on users stems from “China’s hybrid commercial threat to US national security” rather than overreach by the US government.

This latest ruling builds on legislative efforts that culminated in April 2023, when President Joe Biden signed a bill requiring ByteDance to divest from TikTok or risk a ban.

The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act enjoyed bipartisan support and reflects Washington’s growing unease about Beijing’s potential influence in the tech sector.

TikTok hopes to overturn the law on constitutional grounds by taking its case to the Supreme Court, arguing that the ban constitutes censorship.

The case has garnered support from digital rights organisations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which described the law as “censorship, plain and simple.”

Adding to the intrigue is Donald Trump’s return to the presidency, with his inauguration scheduled for 20 January 2025 — just one day after the ban is set to take effect.

Trump’s position on TikTok has evolved significantly. While he sought to ban the app during his first term, he pledged during his recent campaign to “save TikTok.”

Read more: What does Big Tech stand to gain or lose under a second Trump presidency?

However, experts suggest reversing the ban would require congressional approval, a politically fraught prospect given the bipartisan support for tough measures against China.

The implications of a TikTok ban extend beyond geopolitics. Creators and businesses who rely on the platform for income and audience engagement face an uncertain future.

While rival platforms like Instagram and YouTube stand to benefit, industry analysts say that TikTok’s sophisticated algorithm and community-driven culture cannot be easily replicated.

TikTok has already been banned in countries like India and Afghanistan, while nations including Australia and Canada have imposed restrictions on its use by government employees.

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OpenAI has revealed details about its experimental AI framework called Swarm, which offers developers a blueprint for creating interconnected AI networks capable of collaborating to solve complex tasks.

While OpenAI has stressed that Swarm is not an official product, the initiative has sparked intense discussion among AI ethicists about the future of automation.

It’s suggested that potential business applications could involve AI agents in various company departments collaborating to analyse market trends, devise marketing strategies, identify sales leads, and provide customer support with minimal human input.

The integration of the framework into businesses could free up employees to focus on other initiatives; it has also raised the question of the evolving nature of work and the future role of human decision-making.

Read more…

TikTok plans mass job cuts

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has reported that TikTok’s content moderation division is set to lose at least 125 jobs as part of a company strategy shake-up.

Those affected, who work in content moderation and other safety roles at the video platform, have been told they may be made redundant.

The platform employs approximately 500 staff in the UK focussed on content moderation, according to the Communication Workers Union.

TikTok sent an email to employees last week, stating that it was facing “evolving challenges” such as increased demands on moderation efforts, and a wider range of harmful content and bad actors. As a result, the company proposed to make changes.

The email was signed off with a link to a “wellbeing resources” document, illustrated with an image of hands in the shape of a heart.

Read more…

New UK bill set to reduce the addictiveness of social media to teens

A new heavyweight bill to be discussed in the UK parliament this week aims to exclude some teens from social media algorithms in a bid to make content less addictive.

The bill is backed by Labour, Conservatives and child protection experts.

The Safer Phones Bill, championed by Labour MP Josh MacAlister, will also include a review to determine if additional safeguards are necessary for phones used by individuals under 16.

MacAlister said: “Evidence is mounting that children doomscrolling for hours a day is causing widespread harm.”

Instagram introduces AI for age verification to protect children

Read more…

Elon Musk’s Robotaxi demo flops, prompting sell-off

Tesla shares fell sharply last week as investors were left underwhelmed by the company’s long-awaited Robotaxi demonstration.

Even well-known Tesla enthusiasts such as Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives said that Elon Musk failed to offer enough detail on how the company would roll out its Robotaxi venture.

Tesla is facing increasing competition from companies like Alphabet-owned Waymo. However, Musk, who unveiled 20 vehicles last week, stated that Tesla’s Cybercab would be priced at under $30,000, in contrast to the $250,000 for a Waymo taxi.

Musk also unveiled his Robovan, capable of carrying 20 passengers, but provided no production date or pricing for the product.

Read more…

Baidu drives its new robotaxi service in Chongqing and Wuhan

Google threatened by antitrust crackdown

The US government is considering a series of ‘remedies’ following its landmark judicial ruling against Google in August which could see the tech giant broken up.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Google, which accounts for 90 per cent of online searches, is illegally crushing competition and causing ‘pernicious harms’ to Americans.

It said Google used its Chrome browser and Android operating system to direct users to its search engine, where it makes money selling ads.

Remedies under consideration would be aimed at preventing Google from using these products to the advantage of its search engine.

More detailed proposals from the DOJ are expected next month, whilst Google has said the remedies ‘risk hurting consumers, businesses and developers’.

Read more…

The post OpenAI Swarm raises job fears, TikTok faces job cuts, and Tesla Robotaxi launch flops appeared first on TechInformed.

The search giant has won its challenge against a €1.49bn ($1.66bn/£1.26bn) fine from the EU for blocking rival online search advertisers.

The EU accused Google of abusing its market dominance by restricting third-party rivals from displaying search ads between 2006 and 2016.

Europe’s second-top court ruled the European Commission, which levied the fine, “committed errors in its assessment.”

The Commission said it would reflect on possible next steps, including an appeal to the EU’s top court.

Google welcomed the ruling: “We are pleased that the court has recognised errors in the original decision and annulled the fine,” it said in a statement.

It is a rare win for the tech giant, which was hit with fines worth a total of 8.2 billion euros between 2017 and 2019 over antitrust violations.

Read more here…

TikTok warns of US ban consequences

This week, the social media urged a federal appeals court to block a law that could soon ban the social media app in the US over national security concerns related to its Chinese parent, arguing the consequences of such a move would be “staggering” for free speech.

Under the law signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year, TikTok will be banned in the US if it does not divest from its parent ByteDance by January 19 2025 — the day before the next president is inaugurated.

On Monday, a panel of three judges heard its arguments at an appeals court in Washington DC.

“This law imposes extraordinary speech prohibition based on indeterminate future risks,” TikTok and ByteDance’s lawyer Andrew Pincus told the court.

During the hearing, however, his argument that the law would be an unprecedented ban on a single speaker and his claim that it would be “unfeasible” to divest the US arm of the firm was challenged.

Read more here…

AWS claims onsite IT trend is threatening business

Cloud behemoth AWS says it faces stiff competition from on-premises data centres — a turnaround from its once-proud boast that all workloads would eventually move to the cloud.

Tech news site The Register examined a summary of evidence given to the UK watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), in which AWS denied that customers faced any difficulty in switching from its platform.

To demonstrate this, AWS listed examples of customers who had decided to bring their IT back on-site.

“Building a data centre requires significant effort, so the fact that customers are doing it highlights the level of flexibility that they have and the attractiveness of moving back to on-premises,” the tech giant told the CMA.

AWS added that customers may switch back to on-premises for several reasons, including “to reallocate their own internal finances, adjust their access to technology and increase the ownership of their resources, data and security.”

However, the data centre trend could have been cited as an evasion tactic. Andrew Buss, IDC senior research director for EMEA, told The Register that while cloud repatriation was “becoming more common,” the share of companies actively repatriating public cloud workloads was “in the single-digit percentage sphere.”

Read more here…

UN calls for global AI fund to help smaller economies

Governments and private enterprises should contribute to help states that are unable to invest and benefit from advances in AI, a new UN report states.

The fund would help provide models, computing power and AI-related training programmes, according to recommendations from the UN secretary general’s high-level AI advisory body.

Dame Wendy Hall, professor of computer science at the University of Southampton and a member of the UN’s advisory body on AI, said that the West must not make the same mistakes with the technology that it made during the climate crisis.

Referring to developing countries outside the northern hemisphere, Hall said states unable to invest in AI should be given help.

Read more here…

The post Google avoids €1.49 billion EU Fine, and TikTok Fights US Ban appeared first on TechInformed.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said that ChatGPT will be integrated into the manufacturer’s primary operating system, iOS 18, “by the end of 2024”.

During Apple’s latest earnings call, Cook confirmed that ChatGPT integration will be available as part of Apple’s new Apple Intelligence offering.

He also revealed features such as support for languages beyond US English would be staggered over the course of the year.

At Apple’s last developers conference, it announced plans to integrate ChatGPT with its own chatbot, Siri.

Read more…

TikTok agrees to withdraw Lite feature but still faces US lawsuit

Video-sharing app TikTok has agreed to cull its rewards program, TikTok Lite, in Europe following pressure from the European Commission.

The Chinese-owned social media firm said it would withdraw TikToke Lite from the EU and axe the roll-out of similar rewards functionalities to settle an investigation opened by the regulator in April under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).

It is the first settlement under the DSA, which took effect in August 2023.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, was ordered to suspend its app after it launched Lite in France and Spain earlier this year. Commissioners cited mental health concerns.

TikTok Lite allows users over the age of 18 to earn points under a reward program by performing tasks in the app, such as watching and liking content. These prizes can then be exchanged for rewards, such as TikTok’s coins currency or Amazon vouchers.

The announcement came as US regulators filed a new lawsuit against TikTok, accusing the firm of collecting children’s data and failing to delete it at parents’ requests.

The US Department of Justice claims the firm’s actions amount to a “massive scale” invasion of child privacy contrary to laws requiring parental permission to gather data on users under the age of 13.

TikTok has denied the claims.

Read more…

X to close San Francisco HQ to move in with Musk’s other projects

Billionaire Elon Musk has announced plans to shut down the San Francisco home of social media platform X.

The move comes less than two years after Musk acquired the firm, formerly known as Twitter. Musk claimed he had “no choice” but to close the office, citing financial regulations.

“It is impossible to operate in San Francisco if you’re processing payments,” he wrote in a post on X. “That’s why Stripe, Block (CashApp) and others had to move.”

Reports claim Musk is expected to move the social media firm to a new location in Austin, Texas, which is also home to some of his other businesses, including SpaceX.

According to the New York Times, California employees would be relocated to Silicon Valley, distributed between an existing office in San Jose and a new office to be built in Palo Alto, and shared with another of Musk’s companies, xAI.

Read more…

UK Government unveils £32 million in funding for AI projects to boost public services

The UK government has announced a £32 million investment in AI innovations aimed at improving safety on construction sites, reducing railway repair times, and cutting emissions across supply chains.

The funding supports 98 projects designed to boost productivity and stimulate economic growth through AI.

The 98 projects span from Southampton to Birmingham and Northern Ireland, involving over 200 businesses and research organisations across various sectors.

Minister for Digital Government and AI, Feryal Clark, noted that AI will “deliver real change for working people across the UK”, such as reducing train delays and streamlining NHS prescription deliveries.

This comes days after just days after Labour axed £1.3 billion of AI projects.

Read more…

The post iPhones get ChatGPT, Musk moves X to Texas, and more… appeared first on TechInformed.

The US has moved a step closer to banning TikTok if the social media network’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, doesn’t sell its stake in the US version within six months.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applicants Act, which could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban in all US app stores and web hosting platforms.

The legislation will now go through the Senate, with the BBC reporting that President Joe Biden will sign the bill into law if it reaches his desk.

Lawmakers say TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, has links with the Chinese Communist Party, which it denies. Meanwhile, the White House says the goal is to end Chinese ownership, not to ban TikTok.

Any forced TikTok divestment from the US would almost certainly face legal challenges, which the company would need to file within 165 days of the president signing the bill.

The TikTok ban is also likely to face challenges on the grounds that it restricts the right to free speech, with civil liberties groups arguing that it infringes on the First Amendment.

Read more…

Headset Wars: Zuck takes a pop at Vision Pro

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg took to his instant messaging platform, Threads, earlier this week to reiterate his belief that Apple’s Vision Pro headset is inferior to Meta’s Quest 3.

Zuck’s social media outburst followed a comment on the platform by analyst Benedict Evans, who said that Vision Pro (which retails for $3.5K) was “the device Meta wants to reach in three to five years” and that it was confusing for Meta to suggest that Vision Pro had the same specs as Quest.

In response, Zuckerberg said that the Quest 3 (retailing at $500) was better than the Vision Pro and that if the Meta Quest has the “motion blur,” weight, or “lack of precision inputs” as the Vision Pro in the future, then Meta will have “regressed significantly.”

The Facebook founder also took offence to the Meta Quest being called “a games device” and clarified that some of the top apps on the Quest are social, browser, and video player apps.

Read more…

Year of Elections: Google restricts AI Chatbot

Google is restricting its Gemini AI chatbot from answering election-related questions in countries where voting is taking place this year, the Guardian reports. This will prevent users from receiving information about candidates, political parties, and other elements of politics.

The change applies to the US and India and will roll out in nations where elections are held this year.

“Out of an abundance of caution on such an important topic, we have begun to roll out restrictions on the types of election-related queries for which Gemini will return responses,” Google’s India team stated on the company’s site.

Read more…

Nissan’s Aussie arm hit by data hack

Nissan Australia has revealed that it has started contacting customers whose data may have been compromised three months ago when a cyber attack hit the manufacturer’s computer systems.

It’s believed that around 10,000 individuals have had highly sensitive data stolen, such as driving licenses, tax numbers and Medicare cards.

The carmaker added that it was now working with government authorities in New Zealand and Australia as well as external cyber forensic experts to review the compromised data and understand the impact.

“We now know the list of affected individuals includes some of Nissan’s customers (including customers of our Mitsubishi, Renault, Skyline, Infiniti, LDV and RAMS branded finance businesses), dealers, and some current and former employees,” the company added.

Read more…

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