Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure

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Updated 17 March 2024
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Clock ticking for TikTok as US lawmakers pile on the pressure

  • If a US bill is signed into law, ByteDance will be forced to sell the app to an American company within six months
  • Social-video platform faces bans, boycotts and scrutiny of its handling of user data, criticism about its influence

LONDON/DUBAI: Just days after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that, if signed into law, would force the China-based owner of TikTok to sell the video-sharing app, the fate of the company’s US operations hangs in the balance.

If the Senate also passes the bill and President Joe Biden signs it into law, ByteDance would have to sell TikTok to an American company within six months or the app will be banned in the US.

Such a law “will take billions of dollars out of the pockets of creators and small businesses” and put more than 30,000 American jobs at risk, said TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew.




CaptionTikTok's CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on online child sexual exploitation at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., January 31, 2024. (REUTERS)

The House vote is only the latest setback in a string of bad news for TikTok, which has faced government bans, boycotts, scrutiny of its handling of sensitive user data and criticism about its influence on users in a number of important markets.

Many countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, France and Taiwan, have prohibited the use of TikTok app on the work phones of government employees over privacy and cybersecurity concerns.

INNUMBERS

• US has the largest TikTok audience by far, with almost 150 million users engaging with it as of January 2024.

• Indonesia has around 126 million TikTok users.

• Brazil comes in third with almost 99 million users.

Source: Statista

In June 2020, India banned the use of the app nationwide after a deadly clash on the India-China border, depriving 200 million users access to the app almost overnight. In November last year, Nepal announced a full ban on TikTok in the country, saying that the app was “detrimental to social harmony.”

Late last year, calls to boycott TikTok in Saudi Arabia intensified after a campaign accused the platform of unjustly censoring and banning Saudi accounts expressing positive views about the Kingdom.

Many users turned to alternative social platforms to denounce TikTok’s alleged restriction of pro-Saudi content, with the trending hashtag #BoycottTikTok accompanied by posts urging Saudis to delete the app.

In an effort to rebuild trust, TikTok launched a dedicated hashtag page for Saudi content on its platform.

This year, TikTok reported having 26 million active users in Saudi Arabia, positioning it as the second most popular social platform after YouTube. Preliminary data indicated that last year’s boycott resulted in a decline in the number of Saudi TikTok users.

Social media personalities and celebrities including Emirati artist Ahlam supported the boycott by Saudi TikTok users. The private sector joined in as well, with social media news channel The Saudi Post closing its accounts on the platform.

Citing a source close to the Saudi First Division League earlier in November 2023, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported that the second tier of professional football in Saudi Arabia had severed its relationship with TikTok due to the platform’s alleged actions against Saudi content.

TikTok denied the allegations it had restricted Saudi content and dismissed the boycott campaign as a “coordinated action.”

The company said in a statement: “The rumors regarding TikTok removing content related to Saudi Arabia are not true. We strongly reject these allegations that are inconsistent with our policies and values.”

In December 2022, Jordan temporarily banned TikTok after a police officer was killed during clashes with protesters that broke out over high fuel prices.

Videos of the protests flooded TikTok, resulting in the platform being temporarily banned due to concerns over users sharing fabricated videos and inciting violence.




Jordanian military personnel walk on December 16, 2022 in the southern city of Jerash in the funeral procession of a senior police officer who was killed in riots the previous day in southern Jordan. (AFP/File)

Jordan’s Public Security Directorate said that it was suspending the app “after its misuse and failing to deal with publications inciting violence and disorder.”

The temporary ban is still in effect, with many young users turning to VPN services to access the app.

Local media reports cited Abd Al-Hadi Al-Tahat, head of the Cybercrime Unit at the Public Security Directorate, as saying that the ban would remain until the platform fully complied with Jordanian regulations and laws.

During a talk at Yarmouk University titled “Visions of Modernization: Youth is the Focus of Concern,” the country’s prime minister, Bisher Al-Khasawneh, said one of the conditions for TikTok’s reactivation in the country is for the company to establish an office in Jordan or elsewhere in the region.

A TikTok spokesperson told Jordanian media outlet Roya that the platform is committed to improving and updating its safety policies and tools. However, it has yet to outline any specific measures.

Wednesday’s move by US lawmakers to pass legislation — with 352 votes in favor and just 65 against — that could ban TikTok in the US prompted an outcry among users and from the company itself.




Rep. Robert Garcia of California speaks outside Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2024, as he is joined by fellow Democratic congressmen and TikTok creators during a press conference to voice their opposition to the "Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act," which woul,d effective ban TikTok in the US. (REUTERS)

“This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: It’s a ban,” a TikTok spokesperson told Arab News.

“We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents and realize the impact on the economy — 7 million small businesses and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”

Denouncing the arguments behind the bill as “bandit logic,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Thursday that the US decision “runs contrary to the principles of fair competition and justice.”

He added: “When someone sees a good thing another person has and tries to take it for themselves, this is entirely the logic of a bandit.”




A man walks past a Tiktok booth during the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE) in Shanghai on March 14, 2024. China on March 14, 2024 slammed the approval of a US bill that would ban TikTok unless it severs ties with its Chinese parent company, blasting Washington's "bandit" mentality and vowing Beijing would "take all necessary measures" to protect the interests of its companies overseas. (AFP)

Closer to home, Summer Lucille, founder and owner of a boutique in North Carolina, told US lawmakers: “You are voting against my small business. You are voting against me getting a slice of my American pie.”

Lucille began advertising on TikTok in 2022 and has since been able to expand her business significantly, a CNN report said.

Several other American business owners have echoed the sentiment. “Banning TikTok would shut down a lot of small businesses, including mine,” Brandon Hurst, a plant shop owner, told The Washington Post.

Gigi Gonzalez, a financial educator from Chicago, said that the ban would remove her biggest revenue source — a video host for brand deals, speaking opportunities and digital course sales.




Supporters of TikTok do a TV news interview at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2024, as the House of Representatives passed a bill that would lead to a nationwide ban of the popular video app if its China-based owner doesn't sell to an American owner. (AP Photo)

Before using TikTok, she had tried to reach people — unsuccessfully — through webinars. Now, Gonzalez reaches millions of people through TikTok, The Post was told.

Beyond its economic impact, a ban “would stifle free speech,” said Ashley Gorski, senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project.

“Under the First Amendment, we have the right to speak, to express ourselves, to receive information from others and to associate freely. And banning TikTok would implicate each of those rights.”

 

 

She added that the US government cannot impose such a ban unless it is the only way to “prevent extremely serious, significant and immediate harm to national security.”

However, “there’s no public evidence of that type of harm,” Gorski said, adding that even if national security is threatened, there are better options than an outright ban.

Nour Halabi, an assistant professor and interdisciplinary research fellow working on global media and politics at the University of Aberdeen, believes that the TikTok battle is rooted in “America’s political and economic rivalry with China.”

She told Arab News: “For a long time, scholars of media — especially digital media — have pointed to the imbalanced concentration of the world’s most powerful media platforms in the Global North and specifically in the US.

“The market share of American media platforms dominates the whole world’s digital media use to some extent. The rise of a media platform based in China challenges this primacy, so from an economic standpoint, it is a threat.”




Marcus Bridgewater tends to his backyard herbs and flower garden in Spring, Texas, on March 14, 2024. The TikTok content creator speaks with The Associated on how TikTok has transformed his life and the adverse effect a TikTok ban iwill have on his online space for gardening. (AP)

She added: “From a geopolitical standpoint, the conversation on TikTok echoes the political discourse around the ‘Al Jazeera effect’ in the 2000s, when American politicians showed concern that Americans would turn to foreign media outlets to get insight on political issues, and therefore the US would lose control of strategic narratives on key debates on domestic matters and foreign policy issues.”

Indeed, the eruption of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October last year has also placed TikTok at the center of another heated debate in the US, this time over the app’s perceived influence over young Americans.

As well as the Chinese ownership of the app, many Republican politicians have also cited the relative popularity of pro-Palestinian videos on the platform as justification for a nationwide ban.

TikTok creators and social media experts have responded by arguing that the platform merely offers content reflecting multiple sides of the debate, especially considering that the opinions of Americans on the Israel-Hamas war sharply differ by age.




Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene says she voted for a bill seeking to ban TikTok in the US unless the Chinese-owned parent company ByteDance sells the popular video app within the next six months. (Getty Images/AFP)

In November last year, TikTok prohibited content that publicized slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s 2002 letter outlining his justifications for attacks on the US.

“Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism,” TikTok said in a statement, but described reports that the 20-year-old letter was “trending” on the platform as inaccurate.

America may be trying to protect its global hegemony over digital media, as critics of a TikTok ban say. But US government officials warn that they are concerned over data collected by TikTok being used to threaten national security.

Although TikTok has repeatedly denied claims that it shares sensitive user data with the Chinese government, what fuels concerns in Washington is Beijing’s recent national security legislation that can compel private Chinese companies to aid in intelligence gathering.

Legislators fear that ByteDance may be — now or in the future — controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, thereby allowing the Chinese government to use the app to disseminate false information that interferes with US elections, especially at a time when Americans increasingly use TikTok for news.




A view shows the office of TikTok in Culver City, California. (REUTERS/File Photo)

Also, as TikTok’s critics frequently cite, internet users in China cannot access US-owned platforms like YouTube, X, Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Facebook.

Only time will if tell users and content producers can survive and do business in a TikTok-less America.

During previous attempts by the US government to force a sale of TikTok, when Donald Trump was in the White House, several American companies reportedly entered into talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok’s US operations, only for the deals to stall.

Mamdouh Al-Muhaini, general manager of Saudi Arabia’s Al-Arabiya and Al-Hadath news channels, sees US lawmakers’ battle against TikTok as a “political drama” of their own creation, based on two arguments that “do not make sense and are not based on conclusive evidence.”

In a recent post on X, Al-Muhaini argued that TikTok is not alone among social media companies in collecting user data to inform algorithms.

“This is what all platforms do, including Facebook, Twitter (X) and Instagram,” Al-Muhaini said, adding that no evidence has been provided to back the claim that the Chinese government has used TikTok to spy on US or Western government institutions.

 


OpenAI considers taking on Google with browser, the Information reports

Updated 22 November 2024
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OpenAI considers taking on Google with browser, the Information reports

  • OpenAI has already entered the search market with SearchGPT
  • Google commands the lion’s share of the browser and search market

ChatGPT-owner OpenAI has recently considered developing a web browser that would combine with its chatbot and has separately discussed or struck deals to power search features, the Information reported on Thursday.
OpenAI has spoken about the search product with website and app developers such as Conde Nast, Redfin, Eventbrite and Priceline, the report said, citing people who have seen prototypes or designs of the products.
Google and OpenAI did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The move could pit the Sam Altman-led company against search giant Google, which commands the lion’s share of the browser and search market. OpenAI has already entered the search market with SearchGPT.
Alphabet shares were down 1 percent after the bell, after falling nearly 5 percent in regular trading on Thursday.
 


Snap launches new office, first hub for creators in Saudi Arabia

Updated 22 November 2024
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Snap launches new office, first hub for creators in Saudi Arabia

  • Diriyah’s JAX District is location for platform
  • Move will support partnership with Kingdom’s Ministry of Culture

DUBAI: Snap is expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia with the launch of a new office and the Kingdom’s first creator hub, named Majlis Snap for Content Creators, in Diriyah’s JAX District, near Riyadh.

Majlis Snap for Content Creators will serve as a platform to grow and support the local creator community through training, educational programs and opportunities for collaboration.

The opening ceremony of the new office was attended by Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO of Snap Inc.; Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih; and Saudi Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah Al-Swaha.

The event featured a conversation between Spiegel and Jomana Al-Rashid, the CEO of the Saudi Research and Media Group, about Snap’s growth and popularity in the Kingdom.

Spiegel also hosted exclusive sessions with content creators to commemorate the launch of Majlis Snap for Content Creators.

The establishment of the new office will support Snap’s partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Culture by upskilling local talent.

Abdulla Alhammadi, managing director of Snap Inc. in Saudi Arabia, said that the Kingdom was one of the company’s “most dynamic growth markets” and the investment would “enhance the experience” of both Snapchat users and advertisers.

Hussein Freijeh, the vice president of Snap Inc. in the Middle East and North Africa region, said that the company’s expansion in Saudi Arabia “symbolizes more than just a physical presence,” and represented “a deeper commitment to enhancing Saudi Arabia’s digital ecosystem.”

He added: “This marks a huge milestone in our journey in KSA, and we look forward to strengthening our connection with Saudi partners and clients, in line with the country’s digital transformation agenda.”

Snapchat has 25 million active monthly users in the Kingdom, reaching 90 percent of those aged between 13 and 34, with users opening it 50 times a day on average.


An AI-powered tool aims to combat fake news in the Arab world and beyond

Updated 22 November 2024
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An AI-powered tool aims to combat fake news in the Arab world and beyond

  • Developed jointly with EU academic institutions, FRAPPE is the brainchild of Preslav Nakov of Abu Dhabi’s MBZUAI
  • System trained with 23 different linguistic techniques, can identify specific persuasion and propaganda techniques

RIYADH: Rising concern over disinformation’s role in manipulating public opinion has motivated Preslav Nakov, a professor at the UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, to develop an AI-powered tool for detecting propaganda. 

FRAPPE, short for Framing, Persuasion and Propaganda Explorer, is designed to assess news framing techniques and identify potential instances of information manipulation.

Nakov, chair of the natural language processing department and professor of natural language processing at the Abu Dhabi-based MBZUAI, said that AI plays a central role in FRAPPE by analyzing, categorizing and detecting complex patterns that influence readers’ opinions and emotions. 

The tool offers real-time, on-the-fly analysis of individual articles while enabling a comprehensive comparison of framing and persuasion strategies across a wide range of media outlets, he told Arab News. 

The UN defines disinformation as inaccurate information deliberately created and disseminated with the intent to deceive the public and cause serious harm. It can be spread by both state and non-state actors and can affect human rights, fuel armed conflict and undermine public policy responses. 

The Global Risks Report 2024 by the World Economic Forum identifies misinformation and disinformation as a top short-term global risk. These forms of deceptive communication not only mislead the public but also erode trust, deepen societal divisions and threaten fundamental human rights. 

Nevertheless, the WEF highlighted in an article in June that while AI technologies are being used in the production of both misinformation and disinformation, they can be harnessed to combat this risk by analyzing patterns, language and context. 

Prof. Preslav Nakov, developer of an AI-powered tool for detecting propaganda. (Supplied)

Nakov said that FRAPPE, trained with 23 different linguistic techniques, “uses AI to identify specific persuasion and propaganda techniques, such as name-calling, loaded language, appeals to fear, exaggeration and repetition.” 

“FRAPPE further uses AI to perform framing analysis,” he said, adding that the tool distinguishes “the main perspectives from which an issue is being discussed: Morality, fairness, equality, political, and cultural identity.” 

With a database of in excess of 2.5 million articles from more than 8,000 sources, the multilingual system enables users to explore and compare how different countries and outlets frame and present information. 

DID YOUKNOW?

• Disinformation is the intentional spread of false information to sway public opinion.

• Propaganda often employs loaded language to elicit emotional reactions.

• A WEF report identifies disinformation and misinformation as a top short-term risk.

Moreover, to build the training data for the system, more than 40 journalists from several European countries contributed to the manual analysis of news content in 13 languages. 

This manual analysis, according to Nakov, allows FRAPPE to discern the underlying frames that shape how stories are told and perceived. By identifying the dominant frames within an article, FRAPPE compares these across media sources, countries and languages, providing valuable insights into how framing varies globally. 

FRAPPE is designed for a broad audience, including the general public, journalists, researchers, and even policymakers. 

With an extensive database, FRAPPE's  multilingual system enables users to explore and compare how different countries and outlets frame and present information. (Supplied)

“For the general user, FRAPPE serves as an educational tool to explore how news content is framed, enabling them to identify propaganda techniques like name-calling, flag-waving, loaded language and appeals to fear,” Nakov said. 

“For journalists and policymakers, FRAPPE offers a powerful tool to examine and compare framing and persuasion strategies across different countries, languages and outlets,” he added. 

The system relies on annotations from journalists who manually identified persuasion and propaganda techniques across a wide range of articles. This minimizes the risk of overly subjective or one-sided interpretations. 

Opinion

This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field)

Transparency and unbiased analysis were fundamental in the development of FRAPPE. Nakov said: “Users should be aware that our models use neural networks and, as such, they lack explainability.” 

He also warned that “despite our intent, due to potential unintended article selection biases, FRAPPE might be favoring some political or social standpoints.” 

On the positive side, however, “FRAPPE has the potential to influence the way news articles are perceived and consumed, and journalists may become more aware of the language they use and its potential impact on readers.” 

FRAPPE has the ability to spot persuasive or manipulative techniques in news content. (Supplied)

To spot persuasive or manipulative techniques in news content, Nakov advises readers and viewers to “watch out for emotional language designed to provoke strong reactions like fear or anger, and be mindful of loaded words, such as ‘radical’ and ‘heroic, which carry emotional weight.”

He urged readers to critically assess articles that rely too heavily on a single expert or selective quotes, stressing the importance of considering how different outlets might report the same event in contrasting ways. 

To gain a clearer perspective, Nakov advises cross-checking sources and comparing how different media outlets cover the same story. This approach helps reveal varying angles, biases or framing techniques. 

He also stressed that oversimplified “us versus them” narratives “often indicate manipulation, as do articles that frame an issue with a particular angle, leaving out important details. 

FRAPPE has been featured in numerous EU workshops focused on combating fake news. (Supplied)

“False dilemmas, where only extreme choices are presented and repetitive phrases meant to reinforce a point are also red flags,” he said. 

“FRAPPE envisions empowering individuals and institutions to make more informed decisions by revealing the framing and persuasion techniques embedded in media content. Its aim is to enhance transparency in journalism, promote trust in media and contribute to a more informed, media-literate public.” 

Developed in collaboration with the European Commission’s Joint Research Center and several academic institutions across Europe, FRAPPE was launched ahead of the 2024 European Parliament election, held in the EU between June 6-9 this year. 

The tool, integrated into the Europe Media Monitor, has been featured in numerous EU workshops focused on combating fake news.


 

 


Israel faces backlash for defacing Lebanese war memorials

Updated 21 November 2024
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Israel faces backlash for defacing Lebanese war memorials

  • At least 2 memorials honoring victims of Hula massacre targeted
  • Incidents are latest in series of alleged attacks on cultural, religious heritage sites

LONDON: Israel’s reported defacing of war memorials in Lebanon has ignited widespread outrage online, with critics accusing Tel Aviv of yet another “immoral” act during its ongoing conflict.

“A memorial in the village of Hula, commemorating the massacre committed by the Israeli army in 1948, defaced & desecrated with the above Hebrew graffiti, by Israel’s most immoral army in the world,” said Lebanese-British journalist and author Hala Jaber on X.

According to online reports, which Arab News could not independently verify, Israel’s Golani Brigade allegedly vandalized a memorial in Hula — a southern Lebanese village — dedicated to victims of a 1948 massacre. Graffiti sprayed on the memorial reportedly read: “A good Shiite is a dead Shiite.”

The desecration has drawn sharp criticism, with users on social media highlighting the act as emblematic of broader issues within Israeli society.

A user said: “Netanyahu represents a large part of Israelis … no, the war and the atrocities committed by Israel are not only the work of Netanyahu … the evil of Israeli society is much deeper.”

L’Orient-Le Jour quoted Hula City Council Chairman Chakib Koteich confirming the vandalism, as well as the destruction of a monument commemorating the same massacre.

Funded by Lebanon’s Southern Council, the memorial was unveiled in 2002 in a ceremony led by Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

The memorial honored victims of the Oct. 31, 1948, Hula massacre, in which members of the Haganah, a Jewish paramilitary group, disguised as Arab Relief Army soldiers, surrounded and attacked the village.

Over two days, 80 residents — men, women, children, and the elderly — were killed and the village’s 250 homes destroyed.

The incidents are the latest in a series of alleged attacks on cultural and religious heritage sites in Lebanon and Gaza since October 2023.

Local media reported in November that Israeli forces had destroyed cemeteries and historic burial sites in southern Lebanon, including the ancient shrine of Prophet Benjamin in the village of Mhaibib.

Israeli forces were earlier accused of demolishing a memorial to Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh at the entrance to the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

UNESCO recently placed 34 Lebanese heritage sites under “enhanced protection,” citing targeted strikes near World Heritage landmarks in Baalbek and Tyre. These areas, both Iran-backed Hezbollah strongholds, are home to ancient Roman ruins of global cultural significance.

The outrage comes as the International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials, accusing them of war crimes in Gaza.

While the suspects are unlikely to face trial, the announcement could alter the dynamics of the current conflict, although its broader implications remain uncertain.


Tuwaiq Academy becomes authorized Google Cloud training partner

Updated 21 November 2024
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Tuwaiq Academy becomes authorized Google Cloud training partner

RIYADH: The leading Saudi programming trainer Tuwaiq Academy has been selected as a Google Cloud Authorized Training Partner to introduce boot camps and programs featuring professional certifications.

A number of the academy’s staff members have received certification in instructing Google Cloud’s cloud computing technologies and services.

Google Cloud’s endorsement of Tuwaiq Academy highlights the institution’s adherence to worldwide standards in fostering expertise in cloud infrastructure, data science, machine learning and application development while providing professional certifications, said CEO of Tuwaiq Academy Abdulaziz Alhammadi.

These certifications include certified professional cloud architect, certified professional data engineer, certified professional cloud developer, certified professional cloud security engineer and certified professional machine learning engineer.

This milestone follows the staff’s acquisition of various professional certifications in teaching cutting-edge technologies across multiple cloud computing disciplines.

Alhammadi highlighted the academy’s dedication to forging partnerships with prominent global organizations to offer professional boot camps and programs within an environment equipped with the latest technologies.

The objective is to cultivate outstanding national talents capable of developing innovative solutions across diverse sectors.

Tuwaiq Academy stands out as the first of its kind to offer a multitude of boot camps and programs in partnership with leading global entities, benefiting more than 1,000 trainees daily, Alhammadi said.

Founded in 2019, it provides a range of training and educational courses in cybersecurity, programming and software development in a bid to position Saudi Arabia among the ranks of technologically advanced countries.

The academy employs a practical application-based learning methodology to remain current with modern technological advancements and align with job market demands.