T he Biden administration has taken a ction against TikTok. On April 24, 2024, President Joe Biden signed a law to ban the China-based social media app under parent company ByteDance in the U.S. if it’s not sold within a year, NPR reports. The move comes after the House of Representatives introduced in March the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act , which aims to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications,” as previously shared by AFROTECH™. Under President Biden’s new law, if TikTok fails to be sold in 12 months, it would become illegal for web-hosting providers to host the platform. What’s more, Google and Apple would have to pull the popular app from its app stores. According to NPR, this is the first time that a law has been passed that could result in banning a social media platform in the U.S. What has led to this timeline of events is U.S. government officials have...

TikTok’s future in the United States gets closer to being decided. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, a 12-page bill had been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2024 to eradicate the platform’s use in the United States. The bill was created to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications,” per CBS News. If passed, ByteDance, the owner of the China-based platform, would have 180 days to sell TikTok for the app to remain accessible to U.S. users. If the company chooses to maintain ownership, the app and all other applications associated with ByteDance would be banned in the United States. At the time, per AP News, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew shared in a statement, “We will not stop fighting and advocating for you. We will continue to do all we can, including exercising our legal rights, to protect this amazing platform that we have built with you.” On Saturday, April 20, 2024, a modified version of...

Nimay Ndolo’s road to success in the creator industry took a lot of work and determination. Before her pivot into content creation, the Nigerian-American delivered food in a 2004 manual transmission car (stick shift) with no air conditioning (AC) for an entire summer in Atlanta, GA . On Ndolo’s delivery route, she would often deliver to people working in skyscrapers — AC there thankfully was blasting. Escaping the blistering heat ultimately freed her from the shackles of being “a starving artist,” she says. “I used my Postmates bag to sneak into a startup for a software company,” Ndolo recalled to AFROTECH™. “I ended up taking them donuts and my resume. I got an interview and didn’t get the job, but I ended up at a freight brokerage.” Even though Ndolo was able to secure a more stable job, she shared that after nearly a year, she was fired from the position six days before Christmas. However, being let go allowed her to go back to the drawing board, which, she says, reminded her of...

A former White House official has announced his interest in buying TikTok. On March 13, 2024, the House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. As previously shared by AFROTECH™, the bill is focused on TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance and was created to “protect the national security of the United States from the threat posed by foreign adversary controlled applications.” What’s more, if the bill is passed by the Senate and President Joe Biden as well as signed into law, ByteDance will be required to sell TikTok within 180 days. If not, it would be banned in the U.S. Amid the controversy around the potential status of TikTok’s future, CNBC reports that Steven Mnuchin, former treasury secretary for former President Donald Trump, is working to gather an investor group to purchase the app. “I think the legislation should pass — I think it should be sold,” Mnuchin said, according to CNBC . “I understand...

One of TikTok’s initiatives is coming to an end. The Verge reports that the social media company’s $1 billion creator fund, created in 2020, is shutting down. As of Dec. 16, TikTok spokesperson Maria Jung shared that creators based in the U.S., UK, Germany, and France will no longer be able to monetize their videos through the fund, per the outlet.

The innovator section of TikTok strikes again.

The TikTok ban in the United States has begun.

Last week, alleged information was shared about TikTok’s creator fund.