Black-owned edtech company Beanstack has secured another investment from Mark Cuban. The platform was launched in 2013 by Felix Brandon Lloyd (CEO) and Jordan Lloyd Booke, a husband-and-wife duo with extensive backgrounds in education. Booke served as Google’s head of K-12 education outreach from 2011 to 2013, while Lloyd worked as a teacher and dean at the SEED Public Charter School for seven years. The idea for Beanstack was sparked while they were reading to their 2-year-old son, inspiring them to focus on increasing literacy rates. “The early idea for our company came one night when [me and Jordan] were reading a book to our 2-year-old son and soon-to-be big brother,” Lloyd told AFROTECH™ in a previous interview. “He pointed to biracial characters on the page that looked like him and said, ‘That’s me, and that’s little sister.’ The power of reading was so clear. We immediately decided to put our backgrounds in education to work on a new business idea.” Beanstack initially...

TikTok will remain operational for at least another 75 days following an order from President Donald Trump. On Monday, Jan. 19, 2025, during his first day in office , Trump — who has the authority to delay the ban for up to 90 days — ordered the federal government to pause enforcing the law that would ban TikTok nationwide, according to Forbes. The move gives ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, more time to sell a stake in the platform or reach a deal with Trump. After signing the executive order, Trump said he believes the U.S. is entitled to 50% of TikTok and warned China that blocking any deal he may make would be considered an act of “hostility” and lead him to impose tariffs ranging from 25% to 100%, per Forbes. On Sunday, Jan. 20, Trump had promised to sign an executive order on Monday rescinding the ban, prompting TikTok to restore service for its more than 170 million American users after it initially took the app dark the night before. STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK: In...

The Supreme Court upholds the U.S. bill that would essentially ban TikTok. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Court demonstrated that it was “likely” to rule in favor of banning the application owned by ByteDance. A ban would result in the app no longer being available in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and over time U.S. users who have already downloaded the app would no longer be able to make system updates. TikTok has said the app would be wiped from phones if the ban is enforced. The Supreme Court’s stance supports a bipartisan bill that had been signed in April 2024 by President Joe Biden requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based company or face a ban of the app, according to NPR. There were national security concerns by the president and Congress surrounding China’s data access and the spreading of misinformation. TikTok is not in favor of the ban that would go into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, as its owners believe a ban restricts free speech. “The Supreme...

Users are already looking to find new social homes to replace TikTok. Is TikTok Going Away? As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the platform is on the brink of a potential ban following President Joe Biden’s signing of a law in April 2024, which requires ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, to sell the platform to a U.S.-based company within a year “For years, the Chinese government has sought to build detailed profiles about Americans – where we live and work, who are friends and coworkers are, what our interests are, and what our vices are,” Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar, the 48th Solicitor General of the United States, told the Supreme Court during a hearing on Friday Jan. 10, 2025, according to CNN. She also stated TikTok’s “immense data set” gives China “a powerful tool for harassment, recruitment and espionage.” If ByteDance refuses those terms, the application will no longer be available in the United States on Jan. 19, 2025. “Absent such relief, the Act will take effect on Jan. 19,...

There is no right or wrong pathway to fulfilling your dreams. With so many options, from traditional education to finding resources on apps like YouTube and TikTok, people have several ways they can tap into how they begin or pivot into the working path of their dreams. Within this ecosystem are also groups providing traditional education alternatives like accelerators and development programs that allow people from diverse backgrounds to have a leg up in industries. NPower exists within this ecosystem and is doing its part to ensure those who want access to tech have it. According to the company website, NPower’s mission is to “create pathways to economic prosperity by launching digital careers for military veterans and young adults from underserved communities.” However, there are nuanced hurdles that women experience, leading the company to launch Command Shift. The goal is to increase the number of women entering the tech industry by focusing on three key areas: attract and...

The Israeli government reportedly commissioned a campaign in 2023 that included social media accounts targeting Black U.S. lawmakers. The New York Times reported that, in October 2023, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs paid $2 million to Stoic, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based political marketing firm, to push pro-Israel content on social media at a time when many Americans were concerned for Palestinian civilians during the war in Gaza. The outlet details that Stoic created fake accounts in support of Israel across X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram that focused on over a dozen majority Black and Democrat U.S. lawmakers, including Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York and U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia. ChatGPT was mainly used to create the fake accounts’ posts, which asked for the politicians to fund Israel’s military, per the outlet. In addition to fake social media accounts, Stoic reportedly created fake websites and articles. In May 2024, NBC News reported...

A paycheck mixup might have just changed the course of one man’s life forever. After a mistake made by a Chilean company’s human resources department, one employee got access to funds he’d never seen before. According to Fortune, an unnamed worker at Consorcio Industrial de Alimentos (Cial) — a producer of cold cuts — received 330 times the amount he is normally paid during a pay period. What usually equals out to 500,000 Chilean pesos (about $555) on the paycheck ended up being $165,398,851 (which is $183,593). For context, in Chile, the average amount that a worker takes home equals roughly $1,000 per month. After reporting the error to his manager, it was discovered that the overpayment was due to a mixup by the HR department. The worker was then told to hit up his bank in order to begin the return process for the funds, which he promised to do the next day… he did not fulfill that promise. While, he did indeed head over to the bank, the man — who has not been publicly named —...

OnlyFans is no longer just only for adult content. The streaming service wants a new reputation that pushes a different agenda for its creators — starting with its app. According to several reports, OnlyFans — which has only previously been accessible through its website — created a brand-new app earlier this year that offers videos with some of its biggest creators. What comes as a surprise from the notoriously explicit platform is that its new app shows no nudity. That’s right, OnlyFans is getting wholesome to add its services to Apple and Google app stores. The ad-free app is called “OFTV” and it officially launched back in January, but this week OnlyFans says that it’s marketing the app to attract those who aren’t already subscribed to the streaming service. It reportedly offers a library of over 800 videos that includes original content from chefs, yoga instructors, podcasters and more. It even features an original series called “Unlocked” that shares conversations with...