TikTok goes dark in the US ahead of ban
Never have stale crisps again… nine invaluable things I’ve learned from TikTok
The average TikTok user spends almost one hour each day on the app. However, the screen time of American users is about to be rapidly reduced, as the app is set to be banned in the US.On Friday the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a law that would see the social media platform banned over national security concerns. TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance had challenged the law, arguing that it violates free speech protections for more than 170 million users.However, in an unanimous vote the ruling was upheld, meaning the app must now find an approved buyer for an American version by Sunday or be blocked
Chinese rival app Xiaohongshu is overwhelmed by ‘TikTok refugees’ in US
When Angelica Oung received the notification that her Xiaohongshu account had been blocked for violating the social media app’s code of conduct, her mind started racing.The only picture she had posted on her account, apart from her profile headshot, was of herself wearing an inflatable polar bear suit, holding a sign saying: “I love nuclear”. What could be the problem with that, wondered Oung, a clean energy activist in Taiwan.Was it because, at a glance, her picture looked like someone holding a placard at a protest? Was it because her costume looked a bit like the white hazmat suits worn by China’s Covid prevention workers during the pandemic, who became a widely reviled symbol of the lockdown? Or was it because in the background was Taipei 101, Taiwan’s iconic skyscraper?Oung never found out. “It is really opaque,” she said
Sir David McMurtry obituary
In engineering, quantity production is possible only with fine, repeatable measurements. Starting from a problem in aerospace, David McMurtry, who has died aged 84, did much to advance the scientific study of measurement – metrology – and so facilitated hi-tech mass production in many fields.While working for Rolls-Royce in 1972 at its Filton factory, near Bristol, on the Olympus engines used in the Concorde supersonic airliner, McMurtry became frustrated with the foibles of the existing coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). One morning he arrived at work with a home-modified measuring probe that could cope with the complex task of properly measuring the twisting aerofoils of the Olympus fan blades – data needed to ensure that engine reached the required performance.To make these measurements was tiresome
EU asks X for internal documents about algorithms as it steps up investigation
The European Commission has asked X to hand over internal documents about its algorithms, as it steps up its investigation into whether Elon Musk’s social media platform has breached EU rules on content moderation.The EU’s executive branch told the company it wanted to see internal documentation about its “recommender system”, which makes content suggestions to users, and any recent changes made to it, by 15 February.X has been under investigation since December 2023 under the EU’s content law – known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) – over how it tackles the spread of illegal content and information manipulation. The company has been accused of manipulating the platform’s systems to give far-right posts and politicians greater visibility over other political groups.The EU has come under growing pressure in recent weeks to take action after a series of interventions by Musk into European politics
Labour’s investment in AI isn’t as clever as it thinks it is | Letters
There are at least three major concerns to raise with the government’s apparent betting the future of the UK on so-called artificial intelligence (‘Mainlined into UK’s veins’: Labour announces huge public rollout of AI, 12 January).The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.First, as Prof Shannon Vallor at the University of Edinburgh has pointed out in her book The AI Mirror, generative AI is not creative; it only looks backward
Can Donald Trump circumvent a TikTok ban?
As the app is on the brink of being expelled, the president-elect has been working to make good on his pledge to save itIn the run-up to the election, Donald Trump made a plea to his followers. “FOR ALL THOSE THAT WANT TO SAVE TIK TOK IN AMERICA, VOTE TRUMP!” he posted to his Truth Social account in September. Since then, he’s been working to make good on that pledge.He hosted TikTok’s CEO, Shou Chew, at his Mar-a-Lago estate in December, implored the US supreme court to delay a TikTok ban and he’s now reportedly considering an executive order to postpone the app’s disappearance. Chew is slated to join Trump at his inauguration in what appears to be a show of solidarity with the embattled executive
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Calorie labels encourage people to eat less by only a single crisp, study says
Are the young really so down on democracy? | Letters
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