TikTok is the social media sensation that all of Silicon Valley — and a lot of Washington, DC — has their eyes on. The app, created by ByteDance, became famous for rocketing musicians and dancers to stardom. But as its popularity and influence have grown, so has scrutiny of its privacy policies, security, and influence, with legislators voicing concern about its ownership by a Chinese firm. Meanwhile, social media competitors are doing everything they can to knock off TikTok’s features and usurp its short-form video dominance.
On The Vergecast: the Switch 2, tariff chaos, Microsoft’s best gadgets, and the TikTok ban.
Things are about to get even more turbulent for the tech industry.
You can now skip ahead in Reels by holding down on either edge of the screen, which plays the video at double speed. Reels started out with a 15-second cap but can now run for up to three minutes, so playback controls make sense.
TikTok thought the same thing when it added a fast-forward feature, which you enable by... holding down on either edge of the screen. What a coincidence!
Security Checkup, an all-in-one security dashboard similar to Google’s identically named tool, allows TikTok users to manage their devices, two-step verification, passkey, security activity, and account recovery options all from a single screen. The new hub can be accessed by selecting “Settings and privacy” within your TikTok profile and tapping “Security & permissions.”
The VP, who’s reportedly brokering discussions, told NBC News, “there will almost certainly be a high-level agreement that I think satisfies our national security concerns, allows there to be a distinct American TikTok enterprise.” That deal, according to The Information, will likely involve Oracle playing an active role to help run the US platform. As a reminder, the deadline comes from President Donald Trump’s 75 day ban delay, giving legally dubious cover to TikTok’s service providers.
The Reddit co-founder is now part of “The People’s Bid for TikTok,” a consortium of investors who want to buy TikTok’s US assets and put it on a decentralized, blockchain-based platform. The group, led by real estate billionaire Frank McCourt, submitted its bid for TikTok earlier this year.
Akamai delivers content for TikTok, and the company says in an SEC filing spotted by Matt Schettenhelm that, despite President Trump’s order refusing to enforce the TikTok ban, it could be exposed to liability, including things like “significant fines” and “financial loss and other similar harms by continuing to provide services to the Chinese application.”
[ir.akamai.com]
A developer named Isaac Gemal spent a few hours coding using Anthropic’s Claude last week to make WikiTok, a site with a TikTok-like presentation, but instead of vertical videos, you swipe through random Wikipedia article previews you can tap to read, ArsTechnica reports.
Gemal reportedly has no plans for an algorithm, and “liking” a post saves it to a list locally, according to the developer.
The Vice President, along with National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, has been tasked with “quarterbacking a deal to save TikTok” before President Trump’s enforcement pause deadline arrives in April, according to Punchbowl News.
The Wall Street Journal backs that up, saying Trump gave Vance the job, counting on his (reportedly unimpressive) venture capitalist background to get the deal done.
[punchbowl.news]
It’s no surprise that you can’t find it on Google TV or Apple’s tvOS after the federal TikTok ban, but Axios found that TV makers LG, Amazon, and Vizio also stopped offering the app for download.
It’s understandable. After all, who wants to risk hundreds of billions in fines to offer a social video app designed for smartphone screens?
Beyoncé won big at the Grammy Awards this year, including nabbing the Best Country Album award for Cowboy Carter. There’s been backlash, with some insisting the Texas native’s work isn’t really a country record.
The argument feels a little thin when internet denizens use AI to replace her voice with a fake Chris Stapleton, like in this altered version of “Protector” or the below take on “Just for Fun.”
The President signed an executive order today to create the fund “within the next year,” and told reporters that the US could use it to purchase TikTok, according to Reuters.
Trump has previously suggested the US could own 50 percent of the app in a “joint venture.”
After a few delays, Universal and Blumhouse’s sequel to their $180 million grossing viral hit about a best-friend-AI-bot-gone-bad is scheduled to premiere on June 27th, 2025. Now the first teaser trailer has dropped on the night of the Grammy Awards with an assist from Chappell Roan’s song “Femininomenon.”
In M3gan 2.0 the robot will be resurrected to do battle with a military-grade spinoff based on her original tech, and presumably some new TikTok dances.
The livestreaming platform announced that this week, every channel will get the ability to edit and share clips straight to Instagram.
How useful that is for Twitch’s gaming-focused creators is up for debate, but with TikTok’s future in question, adding Instagram to the mix seems sensible.
Trump’s executive order doesn’t provide much legal protection, and it’s putting his supporters in a tough spot.
Asked by reporters if Microsoft is in talks to take over TikTok’s US arm, the president was succinct: “I would say yes.” The company is reported to be among several investors, including Oracle, working on a joint bid. Microsoft previously tried to buy the social site back in 2020, which CEO Satya Nadella called the “strangest thing I’ve ever worked on.”
[Bloomberg.com]
The President was asked about the talks, which NPR reported yesterday afternoon also involve Microsoft, during a flight to Florida Saturday. His response, according to Reuters:
“No, not with Oracle. Numerous people are talking to me, very substantial people, about buying it and I will make that decision probably over the next 30 days. Congress has given 90 days.”
