Tech

Why does the US want to ban TikTok? The allegations against it

Published

11 months ago

May 18, 2023

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Why does the US want to ban TikTok? The allegations against it

Montana Governor Greg Gianforte on Wednesday signed legislation to ban Chinese-owned TikTok from operating in the state to “protect Montanans” from alleged Chinese surveillance, making it the first US state to ban the popular short video app.

Here is a detailed list of US allegations against the company and its parent, Bytedance.

FBI Director Chris Wray said in November that TikTok poses a national security risk, adding that Chinese companies are required to essentially “do whatever the Chinese government wants them to in terms of sharing information or serving as a tool of the Chinese government.”

Members of Congress in March complained that the Chinese government has a “golden share” in ByteDance, giving it power over TikTok. TikTok has said “an entity affiliated with the Chinese government owns 1% of a ByteDance subsidiary, Douyin Information Service,” and says the holding “has no bearing on ByteDance’s global operations outside of China, including TikTok.”

The FBI’s Wray has also said US operations of TikTok raise national security concerns because the Chinese government could harness the video-sharing app to influence users or control their devices.

Risks include “the possibility that the Chinese government could use [TikTok] to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations,” Wray told US lawmakers.

National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone said in March he was worried about the data TikTok collects, the algorithm used to disperse information to users, and “the control of who has the algorithm.”

He asserted the TikTok platform could enable sweeping influence operations because TikTok could proactively influence users and could also “turn off the message.”

TikTok says it “does not permit any government to influence or change its recommendation model.”

Lawmakers have alleged that the Chinese government, under a 2017 National Intelligence law, can force ByteDance to share TikTok user data. TikTok argues that because it is incorporated in California and Delaware, it is subject to US laws and regulations.

TikTok’s chief executive has said the company has never, and would never, share US user data with the Chinese government

In March 2022 eight states, including California and Massachusetts, launched a probe into whether TikTok causes physical or mental health harm to young people and what the company knew about its role in those harms.

The investigation focuses on how TikTok boosts young user engagement, including allegedly increasing the duration of time spent on the platform and how often it is used.

TikTok says it has taken numerous steps “to help ensure that teens under 18 have a safe and enjoyable experience on the app, and many of these measures impose restrictions that don’t exist on comparable platforms.”

In December, ByteDance said some employees improperly accessed TikTok user data of two journalists. ByteDance employees accessed the data as part of an unsuccessful effort to investigate leaks of company information earlier this year, and were aiming to identify potential connections between two journalists, a former BuzzFeed reporter and a Financial Times reporter, and company employees.

A person briefed on the matter told Reuters that four ByteDance employees who were involved in the incident were fired, including two in China and two in the United States. Company officials said they were taking additional steps to protect user data.

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WhatsApp to launch file sharing feature without internet

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2024

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WhatsApp to launch file sharing feature without internet

The messaging app WhatsApp, owned by Meta, is working on a cool new feature to make it easier to share files even when you’re not connected to the internet.

Recent leaks say that pretty soon, you’ll be able to share photos, videos, music, and documents offline.

This new feature is all about letting you share different kinds of files without needing Wi-Fi or data. And don’t worry about security – the files you share will be encrypted, which means they’ll be safe from anyone trying to mess with them.

Screenshots that got leaked from the latest test version of WhatsApp for Android show us what kind of permissions this feature will need. One important thing is that it’ll be able to find other phones nearby that also have this offline file-sharing thing.

For this to work on Android phones, WhatsApp needs a permission that lets it look for other devices using Bluetooth. But if you’re not comfortable with that, you can always turn it off.

Before this, WhatsApp added a feature that lets you pin notes to keep them handy. So, looks like WhatsApp is always coming up with cool stuff to make chatting even better!

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Tech

Flame-throwing robotic dog unleashed for sale in US

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2024

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Flame-throwing robotic dog unleashed for sale in US

A flame-throwing robotic dog is now available for sale in the US, thanks to an Ohio-based company.

Throwflame first released the contraption last year but recently announced it was back in stock, asking for $9,420 a piece.

The company released a promotional video showing the ARC Flamethrower and saying it can “send streams of fire up to 30 feet with the push of a button.”

The flamethrower is attached to a Go2 Robot Dog manufactured by the China-based Unitree.

Throwflame said on its website the flamethrowers are legal to own and are “federally unregulated,” but are “not even considered a firearm (ironic) by the federal authorities.”

The company released its first flamethrowers in 2015, called the X15, which could send “a stream of flaming fuel or napalm up to 50 feet.”

That prompted a huge media response, questioning its legality. But Throwflame said the device remains “completely unrestricted in 48 states.”

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Tech

US military stage world’s first ever AI controlled warplane

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2024

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US military stage world's first ever AI controlled warplane

The United States has finally started to seek answers to one of the most asked questions on the planet – who wins between man and machine?

Incredible details have emerged of the world’s first ever AI controlled warplane taking on a human piloted jet in a historic dogfight that saw both aircraft blasting through the sky at speeds of 1,200mph.

The insane test saw an AI powered modified F-16 – dubbed the X-62A – take on the same jet but with a human in the cockpit.

Both powerful jets went “nose-to-nose” as they battled 2,000ft up in the air, say officials.

The tests were conducted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) alongside the US Air Force to learn about just how advanced artificial intelligence really is.

Results of the intense air battles have been kept tightly under wraps but they were done to show how safe and effective autonomous fighter jets could be.

Officials were also intrigued to see how close AI powered military jets are to operating safely in a complex war environment.

In the end, 21 test flights were done for the project taking place between December 2022 and September 2023.

Lt. Col. Maryann Karlen, deputy commandant of the test pilot school, explained how it all worked in a fascinating video on the historic dogfight.

They said: “In September we actually took the X-62 and flew it against a live manned F-16.

“We built up in safety using the manoeuvres – first defensive, then offensive, then high aspect nose-to-nose engagements where we got as close as 2,000 feet at 1,200 miles per hour.”

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