Jump to content

ByteDance

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Whee (social network))

ByteDance Ltd.
Native name
字节跳动有限公司
FormerlyDouyin Group (HK) Ltd. (2018–2022)
Company typePrivate
IndustryInternet
Founded13 March 2012; 12 years ago (2012-03-13)
Founders
Headquarters
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Zhang Yiming (Founder & Chairman)
  • Liang Rubo (Founder & CEO)
  • Erich Andersen (global GC)[2]
  • Kelly Zhang (CEO of ByteDance China)[3]
  • Lidong Zhang (Chairman of ByteDance China)[3]
  • Shou Zi Chew (CEO of TikTok)
Products
RevenueIncrease US$120 billion (2023)[4]
Increase US$2 billion (2022)[5]
Number of employees
c. 150,000 (2023)[6]
Subsidiaries
ASNs396986, 138699 Edit this at Wikidata
Websitebytedance.com Edit this at Wikidata
Zijie Tiaodong
Chinese字节跳动
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZìjié Tiàodòng
Bopomofoㄗˋ ㄐㄧㄝˊ ㄊㄧㄠˋ ㄉㄨㄥˋ
Wade–GilesTzu4-chieh2 T'iao4-tung4
Tongyong PinyinZìh-jié Tiào-dòng
IPA[tsɹ̩̂.tɕjě tʰjâʊ.tʊ̂ŋ]

ByteDance Ltd. is a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Haidian, Beijing and incorporated in the Cayman Islands.[7]

Founded by Zhang Yiming, Liang Rubo, and a team of others in 2012, ByteDance developed the video-sharing apps TikTok and Douyin. The company is also the developer of the news platform Toutiao.

ByteDance has attracted legislative and media attention in several countries over security, surveillance, and censorship concerns.[8][9][10]

History

[edit]

In 2009, software engineer and entrepreneur Zhang Yiming collaborated with his friend Liang Rubo to co-found 99fang.com, a real estate search engine.[11] In early 2012, the pair rented an apartment in Zhongguancun and, along with several other 99fang employees, began developing an app that would use big data algorithms to classify news according to users' preferences, which would later become Toutiao.[12] That March, Yiming and Liang founded ByteDance.[13]

Launch of first apps

[edit]

In March 2012, ByteDance launched its first app, called Neihan Duanzi (内涵段子, lit. "profound gags"). This allowed users to circulate jokes, memes, and humorous videos. Before being forced by the Chinese government to shut down in 2018, Neihan Duanzi had over 200 million users.[14]

In August 2012, ByteDance launched the first version of news and content platform Toutiao (头条, lit. "headlines"), which would become their core product.[15]

In January 2013, in an attempt for commercialism and nationalism, a four-part plan for the future was presented to executives. Part four of the plan was to build an English version of Toutiao to gain users in English-speaking countries. At the time, there was an app race for video views and the attention of phone users.[16]

2016 to present

[edit]

In March 2016, ByteDance established its research arm, called the ByteDance AI Lab. It is headed by Wei-Ying Ma, the former assistant managing director of Microsoft Research Asia.[17][18]

From late 2016 until 2017, ByteDance made a number of acquisitions and new product launches. In December 2016, it invested in the Indonesian news recommendation platform BABE.[19] Two months later, in February 2017, ByteDance acquired Flipagram, which was later rebranded to Vigo Video (Hypstar) in July 2017.[20] Vigo Video later shut down permanently on 31 October 2020. In November 2017, ByteDance acquired musical.ly for an estimated US$1 billion. At the time of acquisition, TikTok was only available in India and musical.ly was available globally. In order for TikTok to go global, ByteDance merged musical.ly with TikTok on 2 August 2018, keeping the name TikTok. Another notable acquisition includes News Republic from Cheetah Mobile in November 2017.[21]

Since 2018, ByteDance has been in litigation with Tencent.[22]: 109  ByteDance and its affiliates brought a series of unfair competition lawsuits against Tencent, alleging that Tencent was blocking their content.[22]: 109  As of at least early 2024, these lawsuits had not reached resolution, largely due to disputes about jurisdiction.[22]: 109  Tencent filed two lawsuits against ByteDance and its affiliates, alleging that they were using WeChat and QQ profiles without authorization and illegally crawling data from public WeChat accounts.[22]: 109  Tencent obtained an injunction barring ByteDance from this practice.[22]: 109 

In December 2018, ByteDance sued Chinese technology news site Huxiu for defamation after Huxiu reported that ByteDance's Indian-language news app Helo was propagating fake news.[23]

In March 2021, the Financial Times reported that ByteDance was part of a group of Chinese companies that aimed to deploy technology to circumvent Apple's privacy policies.[24][25]

In April 2021, ByteDance announced that it had created a new division called BytePlus to distribute the software framework underlying TikTok, so that others may launch similar apps.[26]

In August 2021, ByteDance acquired Pico, an Oculus-like virtual reality startup.[27]

In June 2022, the Financial Times reported on a culture clash at ByteDance's London office that has led to a staff exodus.[28]

In March 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that former employees allege that the company engages in a practice called "horse racing," in which several teams are assigned to build the same product.[29] When one version is deemed to perform better, the team designing the better version is provided with more support.[29]

In April 2023, ByteDance filed a trademark for a book publisher called 8th Note Press.[30]

In December 2023, The Verge reported that ByteDance used OpenAI's API for its own generative AI projects. Afterwards, OpenAI announced that while usage by ByteDance was minimal, its account has been suspended pending further investigation whether any terms of service were violated. ByteDance stated that it had been licensed for using the API outside the Chinese market, its own chatbot is available only within China, and ChatGPT-generated data have been deleted from ByteDance's training data since the middle of 2023. Scraping existing AI models is a common shortcut for smaller companies but considered unusual for the likes of ByteDance.[31]

In May 2024, ByteDance laid off "a large percentage" of the 1,000 employees from its global user operations, content, and marketing teams. The global user operations team was disbanded and remaining employees were reassigned.[32][33]

In June 2024, ByteDance launched an image-sharing and social networking service called Whee.[34]

Corporate affairs

[edit]

Funding and ownership

[edit]

ByteDance is backed financially by Jeff Yass' Susquehanna International Group, Primavera Capital Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, SoftBank Group, Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, and Hillhouse Capital Group.[35][36][37] As of November 2024, it was estimated to be valued at $300 billion.[38]

ByteDance's owners include investors outside of China (60%), its founders and Chinese investors (20%), and employees (20%).[39] In 2021, the state-owned China Internet Investment Fund purchased a 1% stake in ByteDance's main Chinese subsidiary, Beijing ByteDance Technology (formerly Beijing Douyin Information Service), as a golden share investment[40][41][42] and seated Wu Shugang, a government official with a background in government propaganda, as one of the subsidiary's board members.[43][44][45]

In 2023, G42 purchased a stake in ByteDance.[46]

Management

[edit]

Zhang Yiming was ByteDance's chairman and CEO from its founding in 2012 until 2021, when co-founder Liang Rubo took over as CEO.[47]

On 19 May 2020, ByteDance and Disney released an announcement that Kevin Mayer, head of Disney's streaming business, would join ByteDance. From June 2020 to his resignation 26 August 2020, Mayer served as the CEO of TikTok and the COO of ByteDance, reporting directly to the company CEO Zhang Yiming.[48][49] In 2021, Shou Zi Chew, former CFO of Xiaomi, took over as TikTok CEO.[50]

In 2014, ByteDance established an internal Chinese Communist Party (CCP) committee.[51] The company's vice president, Zhang Fuping, serves as the company's CCP Committee Secretary.[52][53] According to a report submitted to the Australian Parliament, Zhang Fuping stated that ByteDance should "transmit the correct political direction, public opinion guidance and value orientation into every business and product line."[54][55]

Partnerships

[edit]

ByteDance's China business has a strategic partnership with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security for the ministry's public relations efforts.[56] The partnership also said that ByteDance would work with the Ministry of Public Security in cooperation on unspecified "offline activities."[57][58]

In 2018, ByteDance helped to establish the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, an initiative backed by the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing municipal government.[54][59]

In 2019, ByteDance formed joint ventures with Beijing Time, a publisher controlled by the Beijing municipal CCP committee, and with Shanghai Dongfang, a state media firm in Shanghai.[60][61] In 2021, ByteDance announced that its partnership with Shanghai Dongfang had never been in operation and was disbanded.[62]

In June 2022, ByteDance partnered with Shanghai United Media Group to launch a plan to develop domestic and foreign influencers.[63]

Lobbying and political ad campaigns

[edit]

According to disclosures filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, ByteDance has lobbied the United States Congress, White House, Department of Commerce, Department of State, and the Department of Defense.[64][65] Bills targeted include the United States Innovation and Competition Act, American Innovation and Choice Online Act, the annual National Defense Authorization Act, and the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.[66][67]

ByteDance's American lobbying team is led by Michael Beckerman[68][66] and includes former US Senators Trent Lott (R-Mississippi) and John Breaux (D-Louisiana) as well as former US Representatives Jeff Denham (R-California), Bart Gordon (D-Tennessee) and Joe Crowley (D-New York).[69] The company has hired K&L Gates, LGL Advisors, and other firms.[66]

ByteDance spent more than $17.7 million on lobbying from its first report in 2019 up to July 2023,[70] and its 2023 lobbying expense added up to $8.7 million.[71]

In March 2024, ByteDance responded to ad campaigns by anti-TikTok advocacy groups calling to ban the app by launching its own $2.1 million marketing campaign across swing states that had vulnerable Senate Democrats up for re-election.[72]

Products

[edit]

CapCut

[edit]

First released to the public in April 2020, CapCut is a video editing software made for beginners.[73] As of March 2023, CapCut has more than 200 million active users each month, and according to The Wall Street Journal, it was downloaded more than the TikTok app in March 2023.[74] In March 2023, it was the second-most downloaded app in the U.S. behind that for Chinese discount retailer, Temu.[29]

Douyin

[edit]

First released to the public in September 2016, Douyin (Chinese: 抖音; pinyin: Dǒuyīn), previously named A.me, is the Chinese version of TikTok. The application is a short-form video social media platform that differs from its international counterpart version by having more advanced features.[75] TikTok and Douyin have almost the same user interface but no access to each other's content. Their servers are each based in the market where the respective app is available.[76]

Lark

[edit]

First released to the public in 2019, Lark is ByteDance's enterprise collaboration platform.[77] Lark was originally developed as an internal tool, becoming ByteDance's primary internal communication and collaboration platform, but was eventually made available to external users in certain markets.[78]

TikTok

[edit]

First released to the public in September 2017, TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service[79] used to make short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education.[80][81] On 9 November 2017, ByteDance acquired Shanghai-based social media start-up Musical.ly for up to US$1 billion. They combined it and prior acquisition Flipagram[82][83] into TikTok on 2 August 2018, keeping the TikTok name.

TikTok Music

[edit]

Formerly known as Resso, TikTok Music launched in Indonesia and Brazil in July 2023.[84] On 19 October 2023, TikTok Music premiered in Mexico, Singapore and Australia.[85]

The platform allows users to highlight and share lyrics, comments and other user-generated content with each other alongside streaming of full-length tracks.[86] ByteDance says that it has licensing agreements in place with Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Merlin Network and Beggars Group, among others.[87] Resso was shut down in India in January 2024, due to "local market conditions".[88][89]

On 24 September 2024, ByteDance announced that TikTok Music would shut down on 28 November 2024.[90]

Toutiao

[edit]

Toutiao (Chinese: 今日头条; pinyin: Jīnrì Tóutiáo), launched in August 2012,[15] started out as a news recommendation engine and gradually evolved into a platform delivering content in various formats, such as texts, images, question-and-answer posts, microblogs, and videos.[91][92]

In January 2014, the company created the "Toutiaohao" (头条号) platform to attract more content creators. Later in the year, it added video capabilities. Toutiao used interest-based and decentralized distribution to help long tail content creators find an audience.[93]

In 2017, Toutiao acquired Flipagram. ByteDance would later expand Toutiao's features to include: a missing person alerts project whose alerts have helped find 13,116 missing persons as of June 2020;[94] short-form video platform Toutiao Video, later rebranded as Xigua Video (西瓜视频, also known as Watermelon Video), which hosts video clips that are on average 2–5 minutes long;[95] and Toutiao Search, a search engine.[96]

Xigua Video

[edit]

Initially launched as Toutiao Video in 2016, Xigua Video (Chinese: 西瓜视频; pinyin: Xīguā shìpín) is an online video-sharing platform that features user-created short and mid-length videos and also produces film and television content.[97]

Nuverse

[edit]

Initially launched in 2019, Nuverse has launched as a video game publisher company.[98] The first game launched outside mainland China was Warhammer 40,000: Lost Crusade in 2021. Later in 2021, Moonton became a subsidiary of Nuverse, after winning the bid, initially set by Tencent.[99][100]

In 2022, the studio has launched Marvel Snap in October worldwide, after closed alpha testing in the Philippines, and gradually entering open beta with the first country being New Zealand. In November 2023, Reuters reported ByteDance was restructuring Nuverse and retreating from gaming.[101]

Whee

[edit]

Whee, an image-sharing and messaging app, launched to the public in June 2024 but not the US.[34]

Other products and acquisitions

[edit]
  • Gogokid was launched in May 2018 as an online English learning platform for children that provides one-on-one classes with native English speakers.[102] In August 2021, ByteDance announced that the app business will be shuttered and most of Gogokid's staff will be laid off, following new regulations imposed on the after-school tutoring industry in China.[103]
  • Moonton was acquired by ByteDance in 2021 and was the developer of the mobile eSports game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.[104][105]
  • Neihan Duanzi, ByteDance's first app, was shut down in 2018 following a crackdown by the national media regulator.
  • Party Island (Chinese: 派对岛; pinyin: Pàiduì dǎo) is a social media app that allows users to create avatars, join virtual events like concerts, and chat with other participants. It also has a messaging function within the app, so users can send texts to each other privately and join group chats. It is open to public testing in July 2022.[106]
  • TopBuzz was a content platform for videos, articles, breaking news and GIFs.[107] The service was launched in 2015 and abandoned in 2020 due to dwindling business.[108][109] Former employees alleged that TopBuzz was used to push soft content messaging sympathetic to China in overseas markets; this was denied by ByteDance.[107]
  • 8th Note Press, a publisher established by ByteDance in 2023.[30]

Censorship, surveillance, and data privacy concerns

[edit]

ByteDance has garnered attention over surveillance,[110][111] data privacy,[112] and censorship concerns,[113][114] including content pertaining to human rights in Tibet and the persecution of Uyghurs in China.[note 1] Concern has also been raised over the potential effects, including extraterritorial jurisdiction, of China's National Intelligence Law and Cybersecurity Law on ByteDance and its employees.[120][54]: 42–43 

In September 2024, the Federal Trade Commission released a report summarizing 9 company responses (including from ByteDance) to orders made by the agency pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 to provide information about user and non-user data collection (including of children and teenagers) and data use by the companies that found that the companies' user and non-user data practices put individuals vulnerable to identity theft, stalking, unlawful discrimination, emotional distress and mental health issues, social stigma, and reputational harm.[121][122][123]

Government regulation

[edit]

China

[edit]

In April 2018, China's state media regulator, the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), ordered the temporary removal of Toutiao and Neihan Duanzi from Chinese app stores. The NRTA accused Neihan Duanzi in particular of hosting "vulgar" and "improper" content and "triggering strong sentiments of resentment among internet users".[124] The following day, Neihan Duanzi announced it was permanently shutting down.[124] In response to the shutdown, Yiming issued a letter stating that the app was "incommensurate with socialist core values" and promised that ByteDance would "further deepen cooperation" with the authorities to promote their policies.[125][126] Following the shutdown, ByteDance announced that it would give preference to Chinese Communist Party members in its hiring and increase its censors from 6,000 to 10,000 employees.[127][128][129]

As of 2019, ByteDance's Beijing headquarters has maintained an office where cybersecurity police are stationed so that illegal content can be instantly reported.[130][131] In November 2019, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) ordered ByteDance to remove "slanderous" information on Fang Zhimin from Toutiao.[132] In April 2020, the CAC ordered ByteDance to take down its office collaboration tool, Lark, because it could be used to circumvent Internet censorship.[133] In January 2021, Chinese regulators fined ByteDance for spreading "vulgar information."[134][135] In April 2021, ByteDance was among 13 online platforms ordered by the People's Bank of China to adhere to tighter data and financial regulations.[136] The bank stated that ByteDance must conduct comprehensive self-examination and rectification to adhere to the country's laws.[137] In May 2021, the CAC stated that ByteDance had engaged in illegal data collection and misuse of personal information.[138]

In March 2021, the State Administration for Market Regulation fined a ByteDance subsidiary and other companies for antitrust violations.[62]

In April 2022, ByteDance announced that it would report users' content on Toutiao and Douyin that engaged in "historical nihilism" in contradiction of official CCP history.[139]

In November 2022, during the 2022 COVID-19 protests in China, the CAC directed ByteDance to intensify its censorship of the protests.[140]

In November 2023, Forbes reported that ByteDance's internal workplace tool called Feishu, which contains "product network security, data security, personal information, and daily operations," was accessed by the CAC and other Chinese government authorities in the run-up to the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.[130]

India

[edit]

Citing national security issues the Indian Government banned CapCut and TikTok along with 58 other Chinese apps on 29 June 2020.[141] The ban was made permanent in January 2021.[142][74] In March 2021, the Indian government froze ByteDance's bank accounts in the country for alleged tax evasion, which ByteDance disputed.[143]

Ireland

[edit]

In 2023, ByteDance was scrutinized by the Central Bank of Ireland for deficiencies in its anti-money laundering controls of its payment division.[144]

Taiwan

[edit]

In December 2022, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council announced an investigation into ByteDance on suspicion of operating an illegal subsidiary in the country.[145] The company reportedly registered "Tiktoktaiwan Co Ltd" in March, which changed its name to "ByteDance Taiwan" in November.[146]

Turkey

[edit]

In 2022, Turkey's Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) initiated a probe into ByteDance in relation to millions of dollars in fund transfers involving TikTok accounts that were suspected of money laundering or terrorism financing.[144]

United States

[edit]

In 2019, ByteDance's subsidiary TikTok was fined by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.[147][148] In response, ByteDance added a kids-only mode to TikTok which blocks the upload of videos, the building of user profiles, direct messaging, and commenting on other's videos, while still allowing the viewing and recording of content.[149] In August 2024, the FTC and U.S. Department of Justice filed a joint lawsuit alleging violations of the 2019 consent decree with the FTC.[150]

TikTok and ByteDance have come under US lawmaker scrutiny due to fears of surveillance by the Chinese government.[151] U.S. President Donald Trump wanted TikTok to be sold or be banned from app stores in the country. His executive orders were later blocked by the courts and revoked by his successor Joe Biden.[152][153][154][155] On 28 August 2020, China announced an update to its export control rules that, according to experts, could give Chinese authorities a say in any potential sale of ByteDance's technology to foreign firms.[156]

In March 2023, the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation after ByteDance employees tracked journalists to find internal leaks.[8] In response, ByteDance fired four employees.[157][158][159]

In March 2024 the House of Representatives passed a bill which, if passed through the Senate and signed by the President, forces ByteDance to divest TikTok or have the platform banned.[160] In April, the United States Congress passed a modified version of the bill in a foreign aid package.[161][162] The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on 24 April 2024, giving ByteDance until 19 January 2025, to divest TikTok.[163]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ See references:[115][116][117][118][119]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b McDonald, Joe; Soo, Zen (24 March 2023). "Why does US see Chinese-owned TikTok as a security threat?". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  2. ^ Clark, Dan (24 January 2020). "Microsoft In-House Attorney to Serve as TikTok's First Global General Counsel". Corporate Counsel. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b Jimenez, Miriam (3 December 2020). "ByteDance names China CEO, chairman; launches music app in Indonesia". S&P Global. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  4. ^ Scheer, Olga; Natzel, Leonie Tabea (24 April 2024). "Tiktok wendet EU-Strafe vorerst ab – USA setzen Ultimatum". Handelsblatt. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  5. ^ Rodriguez, Salvador; Wells, Georgia (2 October 2023). "TikTok Parent ByteDance Turns Operating Profit, Sees Revenue Slow". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Revenue at TikTok Owner ByteDance Rose More Than 30% in 2022, Topped $80 Billion". The Information. 1 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  7. ^ Yang, Yingzhi; Goh, Brenda (17 August 2021). "Beijing took stake and board seat in key ByteDance domestic entity this year". Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  8. ^ a b Baker-White, Emily (16 March 2023). "The FBI And DOJ Are Investigating ByteDance's Use Of TikTok To Spy On Journalists". Forbes. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  9. ^ Baker-White, Emily (21 April 2023). "Security Failures At TikTok's Virginia Data Centers: Unescorted Visitors, Mystery Flash Drives And Illicit Crypto Mining". Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  10. ^ Milmo, Dan (8 November 2022). "TikTok's ties to China: why concerns over your data are here to stay". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  11. ^ Lu, Shen (20 May 2021). "New ByteDance CEO Liang Rubo getting a warm welcome, leaked posts show". Protocol. Politico. Archived from the original on 19 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  12. ^ Wu, Julianna (28 May 2021). "Meet Liang Rubo, the 'executor' and former roommate of Zhang Yiming, who's ready to take over at ByteDance". KrASIA. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  13. ^ Ting, Deanna (30 October 2019). "Everything you need to know about ByteDance, the company behind TikTok". Digiday. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  14. ^ "宁静上《冒犯家族》遭"吐槽" 内涵段子app用户的神评论太犀利了". Phoenix TV (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  15. ^ a b Bischoff, Paul (3 June 2014). "The simple news reader app that's taking China by storm just netted $100 million funding from Sequoia Capital". Tech in Asia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  16. ^ Stokel-Walker, Chris (24 January 2023). TikTok Boom: China's Dynamite App and the Superpower Race for Social Media. Sourcebooks, Inc. ISBN 978-1-7282-8345-6.
  17. ^ Feng, Emily (9 May 2017). "Toutiao touts AI for individual news in vast China market". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  18. ^ Knight, Will (26 January 2017). "This Chinese media giant is using machine learning to go after Facebook's lunch". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Toutiao Pushes Short Video Business Globalization With USD1 Billion Musical.ly Takeover". Yicai Global. Shanghai Media Group. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  20. ^ 文化"走出去"的方式有很多 短视频应用出海成小潮流 [There are many ways to 'go global' for culture, short video applications are becoming a trend]. New.QQ.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  21. ^ Jing, Meng (10 November 2017). "China's Toutiao buys teen-favourite video creation app Musical.ly". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  22. ^ a b c d e Zhang, Angela Huyue (2024). High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197682258.001.0001. ISBN 9780197682258.
  23. ^ Liao, Rita (19 December 2018). "TikTok parent ByteDance sues Chinese news site that exposed fake news problem". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  24. ^ "China's tech giants test way around Apple's new privacy rules". Financial Times. 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  25. ^ Gurman, Mark (19 March 2021). "Apple Warns Against Unauthorized Tracking After China Workaround". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  26. ^ "ByteDance's New BytePlus Division Is Selling TikTok's Underlying Tech". Business Insider. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  27. ^ Kharpal, Arjun (30 August 2021). "TikTok owner ByteDance takes first step into virtual reality with latest acquisition". CNBC. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  28. ^ "TikTok Shop's troubled UK expansion: staff exodus and culture clash". Financial Times. 8 June 2022. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  29. ^ a b c Lu, Shen (24 December 2022). "American Bargain Hunters Flock to a New Online Platform Forged in China". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  30. ^ a b Harris, Elizabeth A.; Alter, Alexandra (1 July 2023). "TikTok Sells A Lot of Books. Now, Its Owner Wants to Publish Them, Too". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  31. ^ Heath, Alex (15 December 2023). "ByteDance is secretly using OpenAI's tech to build a competitor". The Verge. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  32. ^ Woo, Erin (21 May 2024). "Tiktok Plans Layoffs of Operations and Marketing Employees". The Information. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  33. ^ Bhattacharya, Shriya (31 May 2024). "Laid-off TikTok staffers describe feeling 'blindsided' after a 'very chaotic ride'". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  34. ^ a b "Is TikTok's new app another Instagram clone? Whee aren't sure". Android Authority. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  35. ^ Roumeliotis, Greg (1 November 2019). "U.S. opens national security investigation into TikTok - sources". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
  36. ^ Apostoaie, Ella (4 June 2023). "Who is Primavera Capital?". The Wire China. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  37. ^ McKinnon, John D.; Woo, Stu (20 September 2023). "The Billionaire Keeping TikTok on Phones in the U.S.". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  38. ^ Chung, Juliet; Huang, Raffaele (16 November 2024). "TikTok Parent ByteDance's Valuation Rises to About $300 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  39. ^ Goujard, Clothilde (22 March 2023). "What the hell is wrong with TikTok?". Politico. Archived from the original on 14 August 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  40. ^ "Fretting about data security, China's government expands its use of 'golden shares'". Reuters. 15 December 2021. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  41. ^ Whalen, Jeanne (17 August 2021). "Chinese government acquires stake in domestic unit of TikTok owner ByteDance in another sign of tech crackdown". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  42. ^ "China moves to take 'golden shares' in Alibaba and Tencent units". Financial Times. 13 January 2023. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  43. ^ "China's communist authorities are tightening their grip on the private sector". The Economist. 18 November 2021. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021. CIIF's board appointee to ByteDance has no clear business experience on his résumé, according to Ms Li, but a background in communist propaganda.
  44. ^ "China state firms invest in TikTok sibling, Weibo chat app". Associated Press. 18 August 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  45. ^ Feng, Coco (17 August 2021). "Chinese government takes minority stake, board seat in TikTok owner ByteDance's main domestic subsidiary". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021. Wu, the government official with a seat on Beijing ByteDance Technology's board, has spent most of his public sector career in propaganda since he joined China's Ministry of Education in 2007, according to Chinese government websites and official media reports.
  46. ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Wong, Edward (27 November 2023). "Inside U.S. Efforts to Untangle an A.I. Giant's Ties to China". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  47. ^ Wang, Echo; Yang, Yingzhi (19 May 2021). "'I'm not very social': ByteDance founder to hand CEO reins to college roommate". Reuters. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  48. ^ Isaac, Mike (28 August 2020). "TikTok Chief Executive Kevin Mayer Resigns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  49. ^ Leskin, Paige. "TikTok's CEO left 3 months into the job after getting boxed out by ByteDance during TikTok's biggest moment of crisis". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  50. ^ Byford, Sam (20 May 2021). "Founder of TikTok owner ByteDance resigns as CEO". The Verge. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  51. ^ Ye, Josh (15 March 2024). "TikTok ban bill: What we know about Tiktok's Chinese owner". Reuters. Retrieved 15 March 2024. Like with most big Chinese companies, China's ruling Communist Party has set up a party branch at ByteDance - in 2014, according to state media, raising concerns about Beijing's influence over the company.
  52. ^ Wang, Yaqiu (24 January 2020). "Targeting TikTok's privacy alone misses a larger issue: Chinese state control". Quartz. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 18 July 2020. Many companies have an internal party committee as part of their governance structure. ByteDance has one, headed by the company's vice president Zhang Fuping, and has since 2017. Party committee members at ByteDance regularly gather to study Party General Secretary Xi Jinping's speeches and pledge to follow the party in technological innovation.
  53. ^ "党支部——中国互联网公司的标配" [Party branch—the standard feature of Chinese Internet companies]. China Digital Times (in Chinese (China)). 9 August 2020. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  54. ^ a b c Lee, Rachel; Luttrell, Prudence; Johnson, Matthew; Garnaut, John (14 March 2023). "TikTok, ByteDance, and their ties to the Chinese Communist Party". Parliament of Australia. p. 58. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  55. ^ "ByteDance Party Committee: Prioritize orientation and responsibility". The Paper (in Chinese). 29 April 2018. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021 – via Sina Corporation.
  56. ^ 全国公安新媒体矩阵入驻今日头条、抖音仪式在京举行 [A Ceremony is held in Beijing for the Ministry of Public Security's 'New Media Matrix' Launching an Account in Toutiao and Douyin]. Sohu (in Chinese). 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  57. ^ "公安部新闻宣传局与字节跳动战略合作签约暨全国公安新媒体矩阵入驻今日头条抖音仪式举行 -中国警察网". Ministry of Public Security (in Chinese). 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  58. ^ Cave, Danielle; Hoffman, Samantha; Joske, Alex; Ryan, Fergus; Thomas, Elise (2019). "Mapping China's technology giants". Australian Strategic Policy Institute. JSTOR resrep23072. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  59. ^ Quinn, Jimmy (20 March 2023). "New Report Reveals TikTok Parent's Extensive Links to Chinese Military-Surveillance Complex". National Review. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  60. ^ "Bytedance teams up with a state-run Chinese publisher". The Economist. 21 December 2019. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  61. ^ Galbraith, Andrew; Yang, Yingzhi (14 December 2019). "ByteDance unit establishes venture with Chinese state media firm". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  62. ^ a b "China market regulator fines 12 firms for violating anti-monopoly law". Reuters. 11 March 2021. Archived from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
  63. ^ Bagshaw, Eryk (26 November 2023). "The hired-gun influencers who are 'ready to stand up for China'". The Age. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  64. ^ Massaglia, Anna; Newwell, Keith (8 February 2023). "ByteDance ramps up lobbying as concerns over TikTok's China ties and data security mount". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  65. ^ Shaw, Donald (17 February 2023). "TikTok Owner Uses Back Door to Donate in Honor of Members of Congress". Sludge. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  66. ^ a b c Quinn, Jimmy (21 July 2022). "TikTok's Owner Is Spending Millions on D.C. Lobbying". National Review. Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  67. ^ Oprysko, Caitlin (24 April 2024). "Who else lobbied on the TikTok bill". Politico. Archived from the original on 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  68. ^ Fuchs, Hailey; Goujard, Clothilde; Lippman, Daniel (31 March 2023). "The campaign to save TikTok has been years in the making". Politico. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  69. ^ Massoglia, Anna (26 October 2023). "ByteDance sets new lobbying record amid scrutiny of TikTok's China ties". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  70. ^ Massoglia, Anna (26 July 2023). "ByteDance spends millions lobbying, outpacing prior years amid crackdown on TikTok's China ties". OpenSecrets. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  71. ^ Maheshwari, Sapna (4 April 2024). "TikTok Turns to Nuns, Veterans and Ranchers in Marketing Blitz". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  72. ^ Andrews, Natalie; Kristina, Peterson (31 March 2024). "Early Clues Emerge on Senate's Plans for TikTok". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024. The company started a $2.1 million marketing campaign across Senate battleground states such as Nevada, Montana, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, all represented by vulnerable Senate Democrats running for re-election this year. The ads will run on television, as well as on billboards and bus stops.
  73. ^ Josh, Ye (1 July 2021). "TikTok maker ByteDance finds new success in US with CapCut, a hit video editing app". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 3 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
  74. ^ a b Huang, Raffaele (19 March 2023). "TikTok's Chinese Parent Has Another Wildly Popular App in the U.S.". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  75. ^ Choudhury, Saheli Roy (15 September 2020). "The Chinese version of TikTok now has 600 million daily active users". CNBC. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  76. ^ "Forget the Trade War. TikTok Is China's Most Important Export Right Now". BuzzFeed News. 16 May 2019. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  77. ^ Huang, Zheping (9 March 2020). "ByteDance to Launch Google-Like Work Tools During Outbreak". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  78. ^ Xu, Tony (3 April 2019). "Bytedance officially launches productivity tool Lark". TechNode. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  79. ^ Isaac, Mike (9 October 2020). "U.S. Appeals Injunction Against TikTok Ban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  80. ^ Schwedel, Heather (4 September 2018). "A Guide to TikTok for Anyone Who Isn't a Teen". Slate Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  81. ^ Al-Heeti, Abrar (2 December 2020). "TikTok is reportedly experimenting with 3-minute videos". CNET. Archived from the original on 7 December 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  82. ^ "Chinese news reading app Toutiao acquires Flipagram". TechCrunch. February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 February 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  83. ^ "More Chinese will be watching Flipagram videos". USA Today. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  84. ^ "TikTok launches a music streaming service in Brazil and Indonesia called 'TikTok Music'". TechCrunch. 17 July 2023. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  85. ^ "TikTok Music just launched publicly in Australia, Singapore and Mexico… without Universal Music's catalog". 19 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  86. ^ "Resso, ByteDance's music streaming app, officially launches in India, sans Tencent-backed Universal Music". TechCrunch. 4 March 2020. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  87. ^ Tagat, Anurag (4 March 2020). "TikTok Owner ByteDance Launches Resso App in India, Taking on Spotify". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  88. ^ "TikTok parent to shut down music streaming service Resso in India". Music Business Worldwide. 11 January 2024. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  89. ^ SN, Vikas; Sur, Aihik (11 January 2024). "Exclusive: TikTok parent ByteDance to shut down music streaming service Resso in India on January 31". Moneycontrol. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
  90. ^ https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/tiktok-to-shutter-music-subscription-service-tiktok-music-in-november
  91. ^ Osawa, Juro (19 July 2017). "How a News Startup Caught China's Tencent by Surprise". The Information. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  92. ^ "This Startup Is Luring Top Talent with $3 Million Pay Packages". Bloomberg. 24 September 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  93. ^ Yuan, Li (24 August 2017). "The News Reads You in China—and People Can't Get Enough of It". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  94. ^ Jing, Meng (15 February 2018). "This migrant worker lost his 56-year-old mentally ill sibling during Lunar New Year travel crush. Toutiao helped find him". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  95. ^ "ByteDance to enter long-form streaming video market". South China Morning Post. 15 September 2018. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  96. ^ Saini, Jiya (12 August 2019). "Toutiao Search is online now, a search engine from ByteDance". Revyuh. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  97. ^ Frater, Patrick (23 April 2020). "BBC Studios Sets Content Deal With China's Xigua Video". Variety. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  98. ^ "Inspire Creativity, Enrich Life". Nuverse. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  99. ^ "ByteDance acquires gaming studio Moonton at around $4 billion valuation: sources". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  100. ^ Rohan (22 March 2021). "Bytedance beats Tencent to acquire Moonton Studios of Mobile Legends fame". Esports. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  101. ^ Ye, Josh (27 November 2023). "ByteDance says to restructure Nuverse in retreat from gaming business". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  102. ^ "TikTok maker ByteDance refocuses on education apps back home in China amid trouble overseas". KrASIA. 14 August 2020. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  103. ^ "ByteDance to close some tutoring ops after clampdown - sources". Reuters. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  104. ^ "TikTok Owner ByteDance Acquires Moonton and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang". IGN Southeast Asia. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  105. ^ Anne, Melissa (22 March 2021). "TikTok owner (ByteDance) is buying Mobile Legends creators (Moonton) for $4 billion". MegPlay. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
  106. ^ Team, Dao (14 July 2022). "ByteDance debuts first metaverse-like social app Party Island". Dao Insights. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  107. ^ a b Baker-White, Emily (26 July 2022). "TikTok Owner ByteDance Distributed Pro-China Messages To Americans, Former Employees Say". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  108. ^ Yang, Yingzhi; Goh, Brenda (5 June 2020). "TikTok owner ByteDance shuts down overseas news aggregator TopBuzz". Reuters. Archived from the original on 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  109. ^ "TikTok owner ByteDance kills news aggregator app TopBuzz". South China Morning Post. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  110. ^ Baker-White, Emily (20 October 2022). "TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens". Forbes. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  111. ^ Kang, Cecilia (22 December 2022). "ByteDance Inquiry Finds Employees Obtained User Data of 2 Journalists". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  112. ^ Baker-White, Emily (17 June 2022). "Leaked Audio From 80 Internal TikTok Meetings Shows That US User Data Has Been Repeatedly Accessed From China". Buzzfeed News. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  113. ^ Potkin, Fanny (13 August 2020). "Exclusive: ByteDance censored anti-China content in Indonesia until mid-2020 – sources". Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  114. ^ Hern, Alex (25 September 2019). "Revealed: how TikTok censors videos that do not please Beijing". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  115. ^ Cellan-Jones, Rory (29 November 2019). "Tech Tent: Tik Tok and the Uighur Muslims". BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  116. ^ Cockerell, Isobel (25 September 2023). "How TikTok opened a window into China's police state". Coda Media. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  117. ^ Fifield, Anna (28 November 2019). "TikTok's owner is helping China's campaign of repression in Xinjiang, report finds". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  118. ^ Cockerell, Isobel (24 January 2020). "Xinjiang's TikTok wipes away evidence of Uyghur persecution". Coda Media. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  119. ^ Levine, Alexandra (1 May 2023). "TikTok Parent ByteDance's 'Sensitive Words' Tool Monitors Discussion Of China, Trump, Uyghurs". Forbes. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  120. ^ Palmer, Alex W. (20 December 2022). "How TikTok Became a Diplomatic Crisis". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  121. ^ Tolentino, Daysia (19 September 2024). "Social media companies engaged in 'vast surveillance,' FTC finds, calling status quo 'unacceptable'". NBC News. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  122. ^ Del Valle, Gaby (19 September 2024). "The FTC says social media companies can't be trusted to regulate themselves". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  123. ^ A Look Behind the Screens: Examining the Data Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Services (PDF) (Report). Federal Trade Commission. 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  124. ^ a b "Jokes app Neihan Duanzi shuttered by China's media regulator for 'vulgarity'". SupChina. 12 April 2018. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  125. ^ Spence, Philip (16 January 2019). "ByteDance Can't Outrun Beijing's Shadow". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  126. ^ Romm, Tony; Harwell, Drew (5 December 2019). "TikTok leader schedules Washington trip to meet with lawmakers as investigations loom". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
  127. ^ Pham, Sherisse (2 November 2018). "Why China's tech giants are cozying up to the Communist Party". CNN. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  128. ^ Fan, Jiayang (19 April 2018). "Why China Cracked Down on the Social-media Giant Bytedance". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 25 November 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  129. ^ Bandurski, David (2 May 2018). "Tech Firms Tilt Toward the Party". China Media Project. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  130. ^ a b Baker-White, Emily (1 November 2023). "A Platform Storing TikTok Corporate Secrets Was Inspected By The Chinese Government". Forbes. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  131. ^ "TikTok's Videos Are Goofy. Its Strategy to Dominate Social Media Is Serious". The Wall Street Journal. 29 June 2019. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  132. ^ "China orders ByteDance to fix 'slanderous' smear of CCP martyr". The Nikkei. Reuters. 12 November 2019. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  133. ^ Huang, Zheping (24 April 2020). "China Orders TikTok Owner ByteDance to Remove Work-From-Home App". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  134. ^ Zhang, Yunan (January 2021). "TikTok's Owner, ByteDance, Fined in China for Vulgar Content". The Information. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  135. ^ Qu, Tracy; Feng, Coco; Xin, Zhou (8 January 2021). "TikTok's Chinese version Douyin fined for vulgar content as Beijing continues cyberspace crackdown". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 8 January 2021. Retrieved 30 September 2021.
  136. ^ "Giants Tencent, Bytedance among companies reined in by China". BBC News. 30 April 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  137. ^ Wei, Lingling; Yang, Stephanie (29 April 2021). "China Warns Large Tech Firms as Industry Faces Rising Oversight". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  138. ^ "ByteDance, Kuaishou, and Microsoft given 15 days to fix illegal data collection". South China Morning Post. 21 May 2021. Archived from the original on 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  139. ^ Ma, Josephine (27 April 2022). "Web users in China told to report posts guilty of 'historical nihilism' against Communist Party line". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  140. ^ Lin, Liza (1 December 2022). "WSJ News Exclusive | China Clamps Down on Internet as It Seeks to Stamp Out Covid Protests". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  141. ^ Singh, Manish (29 June 2020). "India bans TikTok, dozens of other Chinese apps". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  142. ^ Singh, Kanishka (25 January 2021). "India to impose permanent ban on 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok - Indian media". Reuters. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  143. ^ Kalra, Aditya; Roy, Abhirup (30 March 2021). "India blocks bank accounts of China's ByteDance, company mounts challenge". Reuters. Archived from the original on 30 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  144. ^ a b Michael, Roddan (10 April 2024). "How ByteDance Bungled a Money-Laundering Probe Into TikTok Payments". The Information. Archived from the original on 10 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  145. ^ "Taiwan probes TikTok for suspected illegal operations". Reuters. 19 December 2022. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  146. ^ "Bills on TikTok disinformation mulled". Taipei Times. 20 December 2022. Archived from the original on 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  147. ^ "Video Social Networking App Musical.ly Agrees to Settle FTC Allegations That it Violated Children's Privacy Law". Federal Trade Commission. 26 February 2019. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  148. ^ Lieber, Chavie (28 February 2019). "TikTok has been illegally collecting children's data". Vox. Archived from the original on 31 August 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  149. ^ Lee, Dami (27 February 2019). "TikTok stops young users from uploading videos after FTC settlement". The Verge. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  150. ^ "Justice Department sues TikTok, accusing the company of illegally collecting children's data". Associated Press. 2 August 2024. Archived from the original on 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  151. ^ Brian, Fung (29 June 2022). "FCC commissioner calls on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores". CNN. Archived from the original on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  152. ^ Allyn, Bobby (6 August 2020). "Trump Signs Executive Order That Will Effectively Ban Use Of TikTok In the U.S." NPR. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  153. ^ Nikki Carvajal and Caroline Kelly (7 August 2020). "Trump issues orders banning TikTok and WeChat from operating in 45 days if they are not sold by Chinese parent companies". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  154. ^ "TikTok threatens legal action against Trump US ban". BBC News. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  155. ^ Fischer, Sara (15 August 2020). "Trump tightens screws on ByteDance to sell Tiktok". Axios. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  156. ^ Mozur, Paul; Zhong, Raymond; McCabe, David (29 August 2020). "TikTok Deal Is Complicated by New Rules from China Over Tech Exports". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  157. ^ Duffy, Clare (22 December 2022). "TikTok confirms that journalists' data was accessed by employees of its parent company". CNN. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  158. ^ Kleinman, Zoe (5 May 2023). "TikTok tracked UK journalist via her cat's account". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  159. ^ Gurman, Sadie (17 March 2023). "Justice Department Probes TikTok's Tracking of U.S. Journalists". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 22 March 2023.
  160. ^ Maheshwari, Sapna; McCabe, David; Karni, Annie (13 March 2024). "House Passes Bill to Force TikTok Sale From Chinese Owner or Ban the App". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  161. ^ Peller, Lauren; Hutzler, Alexandra; El-Bawab, Nadine (20 April 2024). "House approves $95 billion in aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan". ABC News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  162. ^ Peller, Lauren; Pecorin, Allison; Beth Hensley, Sarah; Hutzler, Alexandra (23 April 2024). "Senate passes $95B foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan: What's next?". ABC News. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  163. ^ Fung, Brian (24 April 2024). "Biden just signed a potential TikTok ban into law. Here's what happens next". CNN. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
[edit]