bytedance

Enlarge / There both is and is not a ban in effect on WeChat. A federal judge in California put a temporary halt on the White House's efforts to ban WeChat inside the United States, preventing that ban from going into effect at midnight tonight. "The plaintiffs have shown serious questions going to the merits…

Enlarge / Visitors visit the booth of Douyin (TikTok) at the 2019 smart expo in Hangzhou, China, Oct. 18, 2019. A federal judge in Pennsylvania has blocked a Trump administration order that would have banned TikTok from operating inside the United States as of November 12, finding that content creators who use the short-form video…

Enlarge / TikTok's US fate is up in the air, but at least you can still download and patch it. The Department of Commerce has put a stay on enforcing an executive order that would have forced popular short-form video app TikTok to suspend all US operations as of midnight tonight. This is a tacit…

Photo: Nattakorn_Maneerat (Shutterstock)Watch enough TikToks, and you’ll notice creators using a lot of filters and effects to make their content. Sure, some of this is done in separate editing apps, but much of it happens within the TikTok app. One of the best effects you’ll run into is the new voice changer, which can be…

A TikTok executive is under investigation over his comments about maternity leave, The FT reports. Joshua Ma reportedly told staff that as a "capitalist," he didn't believe firms must offer parents leave. 20 staff at TikTok Shop's London e-commerce team have recently left, according to The Financial Times. Loading Something is loading. A senior executive…

You can link your Instagram to TikTok by opening TikTok's "Edit profile" menu. Connecting the two accounts will add a link to your Instagram profile on your TikTok profile. Instagram and TikTok are two of the most popular social media apps in the world right now. It's pretty likely that if you have an account…

Noun Town is giving Duolingo a run for its money. You start on an island devoid of color or inhabitants. By learning new words in your chosen language, however, you bring color and life back to the world. It’s a great concept, and it seems like an effective way to learn a new language at…

TikTok has begun laying off staff as part of a company-wide restructuring, Wired reported Monday. Before these cuts, execs at TikTok had projected strength despite a broader downturn in the tech and ads sectors. It comes as the app faces new political pressure in the US. Loading Something is loading. TikTok has started laying off…

TikTok's owner ByteDance bought a hospital chain that focuses on women and children, reportedly for $1.5 billion.  ByteDance's foray into healthcare is not its only curious investment outside of the social media space.  See some of ByteDance's other investments, from an education company to a chain of coffee shops. TikTok has exploded in popularity over…

This week’s Out-of-Touch Guide is a potpourri of trendlets, memes, and terrible ideas. Young people are teaching each other questionable geography facts, “cleansing” their colons with saltwater laxatives, and buying 46-person lifeboats from strangers on Facebook. We’re leaving the world in good hands. Is Misiveria a real state?This week, kids on the internet have become…