BRUSSELS: The EU accused Meta and TikTok of breaking the bloc&#39;s digital content rules, putting the companies at risk of hefty fines. The European Union has a bolstered legal armoury that demands Big Tech prevent the spread of illegal content and ensure digital markets are open to competition. On Friday the European Commission said Meta&#39;s Facebook and Instagram platforms and TikTok breached the Digital Services Act (DSA), the EU&#39;s content moderation law attacked by US President Donald Trump&#39;s administration. It is the first time the commission has accused Meta of breaching the DSA, which the US giant rejected. Although the announcement includes TikTok, owned by China&#39;s ByteDance, it risks angering Trump, who has threatened to impose fresh tariffs on countries with regulations that seek to &quot;harm&quot; American technology. Despite his threats, the EU has said it will enforce its rules. Brussels said in its preliminary view that Meta and TikTok were failing to grant researchers &quot;adequate access to public data&quot;. EU regulators insist the rules are not just about transparency but ensuring researchers are able to carry out essential work, such as understanding how much children are exposed to dangerous content on popular platforms. TikTok insisted it was &quot;committed to transparency&quot;. &quot;We are reviewing the European Commission&#39;s findings, but requirements to ease data safeguards place the DSA and GDPR in direct tension,&quot; a TikTok spokesperson said, referring to the bloc&#39;s landmark data protection rules. &quot;If it is not possible to fully comply with both, we urge regulators to provide clarity on how these obligations should be reconciled,&quot; the spokesperson said. Risk of fines The EU also said Meta&#39;s platforms Facebook and Instagram were not providing user-friendly mechanisms to flag illegal content, and not providing effective systems for their users to challenge content-moderation decisions. Regulators accused Facebook and Instagram of suspected deceptive practices -- known as &quot;dark patterns&quot; when it comes to the &quot;Notice and Action&quot; mechanisms. &quot;Such practices can be confusing and dissuading,&quot; the commission said. The DSA stipulates that platforms must explain content-moderation decisions, which Facebook and Instagram have been failing to do, the EU said. Meta said: &quot;We disagree with any suggestion that we have breached the DSA&quot; and continued its talks with the EU. &quot;In the European Union, we have introduced changes to our content reporting options, appeals process, and data access tools since the DSA came into force and are confident that these solutions match what is required under the law,&quot; it said in a statement. &#39;Protecting free speech&#39;&nbsp; Meta and TikTok will now be able to access the EU&#39;s files and offer commitments that address Brussels&#39; concerns. If Brussels is not satisfied with the giants&#39; proposals, it can impose fines on the companies per breach per platform. EU digital spokesman Thomas Regnier pushed back on Friday against accusations, especially from the United States, that the DSA is a tool of censorship. &quot;When accused of censorship, we prove that the DSA is doing the opposite. It is protecting free speech, allowing citizens in the EU to fight back against unilateral content moderation decisions taken by Big Tech,&quot; he said. Both Meta and TikTok are under investigation in several EU probes, including one looking into concerns they are not doing enough to combat the addictive nature of their platforms for children.

Artificial Intelligence

The European Union has a bolstered legal armoury that demands Big Tech prevent the spread of illegal content and ensure digital markets are open to competition.

EU accuses Meta, TikTok of breaking digital content rules

Reuters

LONDON: An Afghan national was jailed for five years on Tuesday after he was found guilty of making a threat to kill Nigel Farage, the leader of the populist Reform UK party which leads opinion polls in Britain. Fayaz Khan was last week convicted by a jury at London&#39;s Southwark Crown Court of a single count of making a threat to kill Farage in a TikTok video posted in October 2024. Prosecutors said Khan posted a video in response to one by Farage, in which Khan &ndash; who has an AK-47 assault rifle tattooed on his face &ndash; said &quot;pop, pop, pop&quot; while making gun gestures. Khan had denied making a threat to kill, telling police after his arrest the video was not a genuine threat. Farage gave evidence that he was &quot;genuinely worried&quot; about Khan&#39;s threat, describing the video as &quot;chilling&quot;. Farage sat in the public gallery as Judge Karen Steyn sentenced Khan to five years for making a threat to kill and a separate charge of attempting to enter Britain illegally, to which he had previously pleaded guilty. Khan shouted at both the judge and Farage after he was sentenced, telling Farage: &quot;You want to be prime minister ... you fucked my life.&quot;

Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s Reform UK party, arrives to attend the sentencing of Fayaz Khan, who was earlier found guilty of making a threat in a TikTok video to kill Farage, at Southwark Crown Court in London, Britain, October 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Europe

Fayaz Khan was last week convicted by a jury at London's Southwark Crown Court of a single count of making a threat to kill Farage in a TikTok video posted in October 2024.

Afghan man jailed for threating anti-migrant leader Nigel Farage in TikTok video

JAKARTA: Indonesia&#39;s government has suspended the operating licence of video-sharing app TikTok because the platform refused to share data about recent anti-government protests, the ministry of communication and digital affairs said on Friday.&nbsp;Indonesia has the second biggest audience on TikTok, owned by China&#39;s Bytedance, with more than 100 million users.&nbsp;The ministry said it had &quot;temporarily suspended&quot; the app&#39;s operating licence for failing to provide adequate data on its live feature&#39;s activities during anti-government protests in August.&nbsp;&quot;This step is a form of the government&#39;s firmness after TikTok only provided partial data,&quot; Alexander Sabar, director general of digital space supervision, said in the statement.&nbsp;The government asked TikTok for traffic and other data related to &quot;the alleged monetization&quot; of live activities from accounts suspected of online gambling.&nbsp;The ministry said TikTok was given until September 23 to submit data but failed to do so.&nbsp;TikTok said it respects the laws of the markets it operates in.&nbsp;A spokesperson said in a statement that TikTok was working closely with the ministry &quot; while remaining committed to safeguarding user privacy and ensuring that our platform provides a safe and responsible experience for the community in Indonesia&quot;.&nbsp;The platform&#39;s live feature was still available on Friday evening.&nbsp;TikTok has faced a series of challenges in operating in Indonesia.&nbsp;The video-sharing app temporarily suspended its live feature in August because of violent protests after the death of a man hit by a police vehicle.&nbsp;On Monday, Indonesia&#39;s antitrust agency fined TikTok $900,000 for failing to notify regulators in time about its acquisition of e-commerce platform Tokopedia.&nbsp;Its e-commerce feature was also suspended by the government in 2023 after it moved to help small businesses.&nbsp;It then bought a 75 percent stake in Tokopedia, Indonesia&#39;s largest ecommerce platform, bringing together their shopping arms.

Indonesia suspended TikTok’s licence for refusing protest-related data. TikTok faces ongoing regulatory challenges, including fines, ecommerce restrictions, and scrutiny despite its 100 million users.

Indonesia suspends TikTok licence over failure to share data

SAN FRANCISCO: OpenAI on Tuesday released Sora 2, its most advanced video generation model yet, alongside a TikTok-style social app that allows users to insert themselves into AI-created scenes through a feature called &quot;cameos.&quot; The company behind ChatGPT described the release as a major leap forward in artificial intelligence&#39;s ability to create realistic video. The system can now generate synchronized dialogue, sound effects, and physically accurate motion, according to the company. &quot;Sora 2 can do things that are exceptionally difficult &mdash; and in some cases outright impossible &mdash; for earlier video generation models,&quot; OpenAI said, pointing to examples like capturing Olympic gymnastics routines or basketball moves. Latest salvo&nbsp;Unlike earlier systems that would &quot;morph objects and deform reality&quot; to fulfill text prompts, Sora 2 better follows real-world physics, the company said. Sora 2 replaces last year&#39;s Sora and represents the latest salvo in the AI arms race that began with ChatGPT&#39;s launch in 2022. In video generation, OpenAI faces stiff competition from Google, Runway AI, and Midjourney, all of which offer apps that can produce short clips in seconds &mdash; tools that are either celebrated or feared as potential replacements for human-created content. Perhaps more surprising than Sora 2 itself is the standalone social app, Sora. &lsquo;Remarkable fidelity&rsquo;&nbsp;The platform will allow users to appear in AI-generated videos with what OpenAI calls &quot;remarkable fidelity&quot; of both appearance and voice. &quot;We think a social app built around this &#39;cameos&#39; feature is the best way to experience the magic of Sora 2,&quot; the company said. The app is currently available by invitation only in the United States and Canada. The Sora 2 video generator will initially be free, with &quot;generous limits,&quot; although usage will be constrained by the limited computing power required for video generation. On the app, users can share their creations in a feed similar to TikTok or Instagram Reels. &lsquo;Vibes&rsquo;Meta, which owns Instagram, added its own AI video feed, called &quot;Vibes,&quot; to its Meta AI app last week, encouraging users to experiment with image generation. The rapid release of increasingly powerful AI tools comes amid growing concerns about the proliferation of AI-generated content and the environmental toll of the massive computing power required to create it. OpenAI also acknowledged the ongoing debate about social media&#39;s impact on mental health &mdash; including worries about &quot;doomscrolling, addiction, and isolation&quot; &mdash; and said it is implementing safeguards like user wellbeing checks and content controls.

OpenAI launched Sora 2, an advanced video generator with realistic motion, sound, and dialogue, alongside a TikTok-style app allowing user cameos. The release highlights AI competition and addresses content, mental health, and environmental concerns.

OpenAI launches Sora 2 with TikTok-style app

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order laying out a proposed deal for a US version of TikTok that would see Chinese ownership reduced to 20% and put control in the hands of the president&#39;s allies. At a signing ceremony at the White House, Trump said the US version of the app would be run by &ldquo;highly sophisticated&rdquo; investors including Larry Ellison, the founder of cloud giant Oracle, tech investor Michael Dell and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Investment firm Silver Lake Management and Silicon Valley powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz are also thought to be part of the deal. Proposed divestiture&ldquo;The proposed divestiture would allow the millions of Americans who enjoy TikTok every day to continue using it while also protecting national security,&rdquo; Trump stated in the order, which affects TikTok&#39;s approximately 170 million American users. The lineup of investors mentioned are all Trump allies but he insisted that the app would not toe any political line. &quot;If I could make it 100 percent MAGA I would, but it&#39;s not going to work out that way unfortunately. No... every group, every philosophy, every policy, will be treated very fairly,&quot; Trump told reporters. &lsquo;Continuously monitored&rsquo;The president confirmed that the US version of TikTok would feature a homegrown model of the app&#39;s prized algorithm, often described as TikTok&#39;s &quot;secret sauce&quot; that helped it grow into one of the world&#39;s most popular platforms in just a few years. A White House official said Monday the algorithm would be &quot;continuously monitored&quot; to ensure it is &quot;not being unduly influenced.&quot; The new set-up for TikTok is in response to a law passed under Trump&#39;s predecessor, Joe Biden, that has forced its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell its US operations or face a ban in its biggest market. US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, have warned that China could use TikTok to mine data from Americans or exert influence through its state-of-the-art algorithm. Trump has repeatedly delayed enforcement through successive executive orders, most recently extending the deadline until December 16, 2025. 120-day enforcement delayThursday&#39;s order extended that deadline still further, granting a 120-day enforcement delay to complete the transaction by January 23. Vice President JD Vance, the one-time venture capitalist who led the team to find a solution for TikTok, said the US entity would be valued at about $14 billion, though he added that it would ultimately be up to the investors to figure out its price. When asked if the Chinese authorities had signed off on the deal, Trump said that President Xi Jinping gave his green light in a phone call last week. &lsquo;Great respect for President Xi&rsquo;&quot;(I have) great respect for President Xi, and I very much appreciate that he approved the deal, because to get it done properly, we really needed the support of China,&quot; he said. TikTok did not respond to a query seeking comment and confirmation, and Beijing has remained largely silent on any deal. After the Trump-Xi call, state broadcaster CCTV said Xi emphasized to his US counterpart that China supports market-based negotiations that align with Chinese laws.

Viral

Trump signed an executive order for a US version of TikTok, reducing Chinese ownership to 20%, with allies like Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch controlling it. The deal addresses security concerns while allowing TikTok's continued operation.

Trump allies to control TikTok under new US deal

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad high court charged Umar Hayat, a 22-year-old TikTok content creator, with murder on Saturday for shooting a teenage social media influencer outside her home earlier this year after refusing his offer of friendship. Judge Mohammad Afzal Majoka in the capital, Islamabad, indicted Umar Hayat for killing 17-year-old Sana Yousuf. Hayat pleaded not guilty. Hayat was arrested in June in the eastern city of Faisalabad. Yousuf&rsquo;s death drew widespread condemnation. Judge Majoka asked Hayat if he had killed Yousuf. Hayat replied that he had not. He also rejected the allegation that he had stolen her mobile phone, a court official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Footage from local news channels showed police leading a handcuffed Hayat to the court. Yousuf, originally from the scenic northern region of Chitral, was known for promoting traditional Chitrali music and dress through her TikTok channel. She also advocated for girls&rsquo; education. Hours before her murder, she had posted a birthday celebration photo with friends. TikTok enjoys immense popularity in Pakistan due to its easy-to-use and visually-led format, with tens of millions of users. But it has also faced temporary bans. The government has suspended the platform several times, citing concerns that the app promotes immoral or unlawful content.

Security

Pakistani TikTok influencer Sana Yousuf’s accused killer, Umar Hayat, indicted for murder after rejection. Case sparks outrage and highlights TikTok’s influence.

Pakistani court charges man with murder of teenage TikTok influencer

WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday extended a delay on enforcing a ban against TikTok until December 16.&nbsp;This marks the fourth postponement of a law designed to force the app&#39;s sale from its Chinese owner.The announcement, made through an executive order, came despite Trump telling reporters Tuesday that the United States and China had reached a deal over a new ownership structure for the hugely popular video-sharing app.The extension builds on previous delays issued in January, April and June as the administration navigates the complex legal and national security implications surrounding TikTok&#39;s operations in the United States.The latest delay was set to expire on Wednesday.&lsquo;We have a deal&rsquo;&quot;We have a deal on TikTok, I&#39;ve reached a deal with China, I&#39;m going to speak to President Xi (Jinping) on Friday to confirm everything up,&quot; Trump told reporters on Monday as he left the White House for a state visit to Britain.&quot;We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it,&quot; Trump said, adding that he would &quot;hate to see value like that thrown out the window.&quot;China also confirmed what both sides on Monday called the &quot;framework&quot; of a deal that would be finalized in the phone call between the two leaders on Friday.TikTok &mdash; which boasts almost two billion global users &mdash; is owned by China-based ByteDance.According to the Wall Street Journal, TikTok&#39;s U.S. business would be controlled by an investor consortium including cloud giant Oracle and venture capital giant Andreessen Horowitz, with the Chinese owners keeping 20% of the U.S. business.Both companies have very close ties to the Trump White House and Oracle already plays a major role in TikTok&#39;s U.S. infrastructure.Fate of TikTok&rsquo;s algorithm&nbsp;One of the major questions is the fate of TikTok&#39;s powerful algorithm that saw the app become one of the world&#39;s most popular sources of online entertainment.The preliminary deal was negotiated over two days of talks that ended Monday in Madrid between U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.Under the order, the U.S. Justice Department is prohibited from taking enforcement action not only during the extended period, but also retroactively for any conduct that occurred since the ban was originally to come into force, on January 19, 2025 &mdash; the day before Trump&#39;s inauguration.The legislation was designed to address national security concerns.The app has faced scrutiny from U.S. officials.TikTok has repeatedly denied sharing user data with Chinese authorities and has challenged various restrictions in federal court.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" id="isPasted">China terms deal a &#39;win-win&#39;,<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;" id="isPasted">&nbsp;will review app&#39;s technology and IP transfers<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later in the day, China called the framework deal reached in Madrid a &quot;win-win&quot;, adding it would review TikTok&#39;s technology exports and intellectual property licensing, in a state media editorial.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;China reached the relevant consensus with the United States on the TikTok issue because it is based on the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation,&quot; the official People&#39;s Daily said in a commentary.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The article was signed &quot;Zhong Sheng&quot; or &quot;Voice of China&quot;, a term the paper of the governing Communist Party uses to express views on foreign policy.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;China will review matters related to TikTok&#39;s technology exports and intellectual property licensing in accordance with the law,&quot; the commentary added.

China terms deal a 'win-win', will review app's technology and IP transfers.



Articles tagged with "TikTok"