The European Union has outlined 19 platforms that will be subject to stricter regulations under the upcoming Digital Services Act.
Unsurprisingly, it includes Amazon, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and other Google services, all of which have four months to comply with rules about harmful and illegal content. More surprisingly… so does Wikipedia.
We have been trying to post it all day and keep getting flagged because, well, it is obviously about doing drugs with lasers. I demand a Congressional hearing into this situation. Also: just watch it on YouTube Shorts.
TikTok’s probably not going away anytime soon, but will that stop governments around the US from trying? Why is it that only two companies make Android phones worth buying? And can Chris Welch convince you to spend $3,000 on a new TV? On The Vergecast, these and other big questions. Like: what is a quantum dot?
After seven years at Snapchat, I finally learned the truth about why our most important apps seem destined to disappoint us.
The bill (PDF) now waits to be signed by Montana governor Greg Gianforte. It would penalize app stores $10,000 per violation per day for distributing TikTok.
TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said to CNN that “The bill’s champions have admitted that they have no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices and that the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts... We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach.”
Taylor Swift fans are not taking well the news of her and Joe Alwyn’s breakup. It’s easier for them to believe random fan accounts assuring viewers it’s “propaganda.”
Please don’t shoot the messenger! These TikTokkers don’t have a line to Swift’s publicist, but sites like Entertainment Tonight do.
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Ironically, the app that usually convinces me to spend too much on junky products led me to the best piece of sleep tech I’ve tested in a while.
The world’s favorite social media app — except in India where it’s banned, and China where it’s called Douyin and is very different — was penalized for allowing an estimated 1 million UK kids on the app despite the age limit (13) and using their personal data without parental consent.
Yeah, but did you see that new beauty filter? So fun!
In case you’re curious how TikTok really feels about its prospects of being banned from the US, this is from my Command Line newsletter that just went out to paying subscribers:
During a recent all-hands meeting with TikTok’s US employees, general counsel Erich Anderson, who has been leading the company’s negotiations with the government, was asked what the contingency plan was if a ban were to happen. He audibly laughed at the question and outright dismissed the possibility of a ban, according to people who heard the remarks. He then went on to explain that TikTok was prepared to fight a ban in court if it had to, seemingly contradicting his initial reaction...
Also: I chat with the CEO of Medium about why he’s bullish on Mastodon, eavesdrop on policy changes coming to Midjourney, and more.
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[The Verge]
