Just a day ago, TikTok faced a ban in the US that prevented the service from over 170 million users. But within a day of the ban, this restriction has been lifted in the region. The company just shared the announcement on X (formerly Twitter) and showed its gratitude to US President Donald Trump.

TikTok Ban Lifted in the US

In a tweet, the social media giant shared an official statement where it thanked President Trump for helping TikTok in resuming its service to over 170 million American users. The company shared that the government provided the necessary clarity and assurance of no penalties being levied on TikTok for continuing its operation in the region. This would even allow over 7 million small businesses to also resume their operations via the short video sharing platform.

TikTok further added that this is a “strong stand for the First Amendment and against arbitrary censorship. We will work with President Trump on a long-term solution that keeps TikTok in the United States”. For those unaware, the US Supreme Court enforced a ban on the app if it failed to divest the app by 19th January 2025. The move sparked criticism from many as they argued that it violated free speech and undermined democratic values.

Donald Trump was basically the last lifeline for the company and it seems that the negotiations have gone in favor of TikTok. TikTok services officially began around 12 MP ET on Sunday, with a message on the app stating “Welcome Back!” while also crediting Trump for restoring service. There are no other updates regarding ByteDance linked apps like CapCut and Marvel Snap, so stay tuned for more updates.

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TikTok, the popular social media platform, is once again under the microscope as Senators Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn accuse the company of misleading Congress regarding the storage and sharing of user data. In a letter dated June 6th, the lawmakers demand answers to a series of questions related to TikTok’s data practices, highlighting concerns about the storage of sensitive information and the involvement of China-based servers. The allegations raise questions about user privacy, national security, and the company’s transparency.

The Senators have compiled a list of 14 questions that TikTok needs to answer by June 16th

Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn expressed their concern about TikTok’s repeated misleading or inaccurate responses regarding user safety and national security. They referenced a New York Times report claiming that user data, including driver’s licenses and child sexual abuse materials, was shared within TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, through an internal messaging platform called Lark. The report further states that the entirety of user data on Lark was accessible to ByteDance employees, including those based in China.

Forbes also published an article accusing TikTok of storing the financial information of U.S. TikTok creators, including tax information and social security numbers, in China. The Senators point out that TikTok’s CEO and employees had previously testified that user data is stored in the United States and Singapore. However, the revelations from the Times report suggest otherwise, leading to concerns about the accuracy of previous statements made by TikTok representatives.

The Senators presented a list of 14 questions that they demanded TikTok to answer by June 16th. These questions cover a wide range of topics, such as the storage of user data on Chinese servers, access granted to China-based employees, clarification on previous testimonies, the involvement of TikTok in other ByteDance products, and measures taken to investigate data sharing with Chinese authorities.

The allegations against TikTok emphasize the importance of accountability in the handling of user data. Users entrust platforms with so much of their personal information these days, including debit/credit card numbers and most of all, passwords, and it is crucial for companies to be very transparent about their data practices. As the congressional inquiry unfolds, it remains to be seen how TikTok will respond to the Senators’ demands for clarification and whether additional measures will be taken to address concerns surrounding user privacy and national security. Stay tuned to Gizmochina as we cover future milestones in this story.

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TikTok is a social media app that allows users to create and share short videos set to music or other audio. The app quickly became a global phenomenon, with over 1 billion active users worldwide. TikTok’s algorithm recommends videos to users based on their interests, making it a popular platform for discovering new content and trends. The app has also been the subject of controversy over privacy and security concerns, but it remains a popular platform for users of all ages to express themselves creatively and connect with others around the world. However, the said controversy is heightened in the US, with TikTok facing dire consequences in the near future.

The Biden administration is intensifying its efforts to force ByteDance to sell TikTok, just days before the app’s CEO is scheduled to testify in front of Congress. The United States government has reportedly “demanded” that ByteDance sell TikTok, a significant blow to the company, which has spent more than two years negotiating its future in the US with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS has told TikTok that it wants ByteDance to sell its stake in the company, or the app could face a national ban.

This move follows the introduction of bills in both the House and Senate that would make it easier for government officials to ban TikTok and other services deemed to be a national security threat. Although TikTok has previously stated that divesting from ByteDance would not address the government’s concerns about data security, Bloomberg has reported that TikTok executives are considering the possibility of separating from ByteDance if the CFIUS talks were to fail. This latest threat of a total ban on TikTok is sure to increase pressure on the company and its CEO, Shou Zi Chew, who is set to appear before Congress for the first time next week.

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TikTok recently got banned in more than 25 states from devices that were issued by government. This ban has now extended to include public/state schools, but it seems that this decision has resulted in some hefty backlash.

For those unaware, the popular short video sharing platform’s parent company (ByteDance) being situated in China has raised concerns for many. The app has been accused of stealing users’ personal data and even capturing keystrokes to learn passwords and other sensitive information. But despite all of this, there have been protest against the ban of this social media giant in public schools. As of right now, the ban on TikTok has been implemented in more than a dozen state run universities.

This includes the Auburn University, the University of Georgia, Oklahoma State University, and even the University of Texas, Austin. Similarly, it has also been banned in certain schools, with the app not being allowed to be installed on university owned devices. Meanwhile, there are also schools that have banned TikTok on their campus networks as well, while others are employing both of these methods to keep people away from the app.

The popular social media platform’s ban has caused both students and professors to protest. The protest spoke out against the restriction of the app. Kate Biberdorf, an associate professor of chemistry at the University of Texas stated that “I use TikTok as an educational tool to make science fun and accessible. To have that tool be taken away by a university, that doesn’t sit right with me. Right now in our community, it feels like our rights are being taken away, and this is another push in the wrong direction.”

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US government employees can no long use the TikTok app on their officially issued smartphones. The popular short video sharing platform has officially been banned and staff can no longer install this app on their phones.

The Committee of House Administration or the COA has just informed its staff that the social media app is banned from being used on House issued mobile endpoints. As per the official emails, ” The Office of Cybersecurity has been deemed the TikTok mobile application to be a high risk to users due to a number of security risks.” Furthermore, anyone working in the agency will also need to remove the app immediately from their official handsets or risk being contacted by the COA Office of Cybersecurity.

The ban isn’t just limited to the COA but will also extend to other organizations and agencies within the US government. This news follows the recent spending bill that includes a more comprehensive ban that will prevent all federal issued devices from installing TikTok apps. For those unaware, the app is currently the most popular social media platform across many nations. However, it also faces criticism for being operated by ByteDance, which is a China based company and follows Chinese policy towards data management, privacy, and more.

Plus, it has also been accused on occasions for harvesting user data and other sensitive information as well. For this reason, the app still remains banned in India while various other governments, including the US have scrutinized and criticized the platform on multiple occasions.

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You can now upload videos that hit the 10 minute mark on TikTok. The company behind the application recently announced that it is rolling out an update that will allow users to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes long.

Notably, this is the second major change following the extension of TikTok videos from 1 minute to 3 minutes in July 2021. This change had arrived since the social media platform was seeing explosive success across the globe. Now, the company is further extending its video’s total length to up to 10 minutes, since the platform shows no signs of slowing and this change would likely help creators upload more varied content as well.

According to a spokesperson speaking to TechCrunch, “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. Last year, we introduced longer videos, giving our community more time to create and be entertained on TikTok. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out the ability to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes, which we hope would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world.”

Through this change, content creators would be able to put up longer videos for cooking demos, beauty tutorials, educational content, comedic sketches, and more. Although, the company says that the option to film videos on the app will roll out to global users over the next couple of weeks. Meaning, its still a while away before you can take advantage of the extended video limit.

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With short videos being the popular focus on TikTok, food and cooking as a category has grown exponentially in recent times. Now, it seems like the social media app is looking to commercialize on this trend as well, by opening delivery only restaurants in the US.

The short video sharing platform made the announcement of entering the restaurant business earlier this month on December 17. The company is seeking to launch its takeaway based Virtual Dining Concepts that will have TikTok Kitchen locations open up in various regions in the US. This is set to start from March and will be based around the popular foods and recipes that garner millions of views on the platform.

Notably, Virtual Dining Concepts has even back celebrity and non celebrity restaurants like the MrBeast Burger. According to founder Robert Earl, around 300 TikTok restaurants are planned to open up all across the US, with more than 1,000 expected to open up sometime by the end of next year. He further adds that the success of the business could be similar to the MrBeast Burger, which saw an explosive success in the US.

Earl said that “Look, you have a platform with a billion viewers monthly who are constantly engaged, as the numbers show. It’s the first time there’s a brand like this out there—an audience of hundreds of millions of people.” These new restaurants will also operate out of national chains that is owned by Earl, which includes Buca di Beppo and Bertucci’s.

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A report carried by Bloomberg says a 12-year old girl domiciled in London has gotten the nod to remain anonymous while instituting legal proceedings against short-form video app TikTok. The girl claims the video-sharing app violated the European Union’s strict data protection rules.

The affirmation of her anonymity was done by a judge in London, giving her the push to go ahead with the lawsuit. The unnamed 12-year-old will be represented by Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner for England. Longfield says that getting the court to provide her with anonymity was extremely imperative considering that she could face “direct online bullying by other children or users of the TikTok app” and “negative or hostile reactions from social media influencers” if her identity were made public.

In making his decision earlier this week, Judge Mark Warby said that the child “intends to go to a court asserting — rightly or wrongly — that her privacy rights and those of others like her have been infringed in ways that call for a remedy.” The judge added that not giving the girl her anonymity could “have a chilling effect on the bringing of claims by children to vindicate their data-protection rights.”

What makes this case particularly interesting is that according to TikTok’s terms and conditions, 13 is the minimum age to use the app. However, there’s a version of TikTok where persons under 13 can create videos but not post them, and they can view only videos deemed appropriate for children. So technically, the girl is not eligible to use the app unsupervised. But then, we don’t have access to details of the lawsuit just yet.

Tiktok has often come under scrutiny by Europe’s watchdogs especially on the aspect of the app’s collection of children’s private data. The Data-protection heads in June created a task force amid plans to coordinate an investigation into “TikTok’s processing and practices.”

In a statement, TikTok said, “Privacy and safety are top priorities for TikTok and we have robust policies, processes, and technologies in place to protect all users and our younger users in particular.” However, being owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company hasn’t helped its cause. The US government has been on the neck of ByteDance to sell its US business to an American company over privacy concerns or face an outright ban.

Despite its struggles, the app still remains one of the most popular apps. As of the end of 2020, Tiktok has seen over two million downloads on the App Store and the Google Play Store with more than 800 million active users.

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