TikTok CEO says company at ‘pivotal’ moment as some US lawmakers seek ban

TikTok said the Biden administration demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stake in the app or it could face a US ban. (AFP/File)
TikTok said the Biden administration demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stake in the app or it could face a US ban. (AFP/File)
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Updated 22 March 2023

TikTok CEO says company at ‘pivotal’ moment as some US lawmakers seek ban

TikTok CEO says company at ‘pivotal’ moment as some US lawmakers seek ban
  • Shou Zi Chew to testify before congress to try to address US data security concerns
  • Chew said ban would damage businesses, individuals as platform confirms it has more than 150 million active monthly US users

WASHINGTON: TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said the Chinese-owned short video app company faces a pivotal moment as a growing number of US lawmakers seek to ban the popular app over national security concerns.
Chew said in a video posted on TikTok early Tuesday the app now has more than 150 million active monthly US users. “That’s almost half the US coming to TikTok,” Chew said. TikTok in 2020 said it had 100 million US users.
Chew, who will testify Thursday before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said: “Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok.”
“Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you,” he said in the video that features the US Capitol in the background.
He asked TikTok users to leave comments about what they wanted US lawmakers to know about “what you love about TikTok.”
Chew also said 5 million US businesses use TikTok to reach customers.
TikTok’s critics fear its US user data could be passed on to China’s government by the app, which is owned by the Chinese tech company ByteDance. TikTok rejects the spying allegations.
TikTok also said Tuesday it had updated its community use guidelines and offered more details of its plans to secure the data of US users. The company said it had started to delete this month US user protected data in data centers in Virginia and Singapore after it started routing new US data to the Oracle Cloud last year.
Last week, TikTok said the Biden administration demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stake in the app or it could face a US ban.
TikTok, which has said it has spent more than $1.5 billion on rigorous data security efforts, said “if protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem: a change in ownership would not impose any new restrictions on data flows or access.”
A growing number of US lawmakers support a ban on TikTok. This includes Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, congressional aides told reporters on a call Monday. On Friday, six more US senators backed bipartisan legislation to give Biden new powers to ban TikTok.
On March 1, the US House Foreign Affairs Committee voted along party lines to give President Joe Biden new powers to ban TikTok.


Meta threatens to yank news content from California over payments bill

Meta threatens to yank news content from California over payments bill
Updated 01 June 2023

Meta threatens to yank news content from California over payments bill

Meta threatens to yank news content from California over payments bill
  • California Journalism Preservation Act would require online platforms to pay a 'journalism usage fee’
  • Meta said it would remove news if similar bill is approved by Congress

NEW YORK: Facebook parent Meta Platforms said on Wednesday it would remove news content in its home state of California if the state government passed legislation forcing tech companies to pay publishers.

The proposed California Journalism Preservation Act would require “online platforms” to pay a “journalism usage fee” to news providers whose work appears on their services, aimed at reversing a decline in the local news sector.

In a tweeted statement, Meta spokesman Andy Stone called the payment structure a “slush fund” and said the bill would primarily benefit “big, out-of-state media companies under the guise of aiding California publishers.”

The statement was Meta’s first on the California bill specifically, although the company has been waging similar battles over compensation for news publishers at the federal level and in countries outside the United States.

In December, Stone said Meta would remove news from its platform altogether if the US Congress passed a bill that closely resembles the proposed California legislation.

The company is likewise threatening to withdraw news in Canada in response to proposed legislation there, along with Alphabet’s Google, which has said it would remove links to news articles from Canadian search results.

The proposals are similar to a ground-breaking law that Australia passed in 2021, which also triggered threats from Facebook and Google to curtail their services.

Both companies eventually struck deals with Australian media companies after amendments to the legislation were offered, although the standoff prompted a brief shutdown of Facebook news feeds in Australia in the process.

An Australian government report released in December concluded that the law had largely worked.

Google did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment about the California bill.


Russia fines WhatsApp for first time for not deleting banned content

Russia fines WhatsApp for first time for not deleting banned content
Updated 01 June 2023

Russia fines WhatsApp for first time for not deleting banned content

Russia fines WhatsApp for first time for not deleting banned content
  • WhatsApp has previously been fined for its alleged refusal to comply with Russian data law and store Russian users’ data on servers in the country

MOSCOW: A Russian court on Thursday fined messenger service WhatsApp $37,080 (3 million rubles) for not deleting banned content, its first fine in Russia for that offense.
Although WhatsApp’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. was last year banned in Russia as an “extremist” organization, the messenger app — which is widely popular in Russia — has not previously faced penalties for failing to remove prohibited information.
Other Meta services, Facebook and Instagram — now banned in Russia — have been fined over content, as have the likes of Twitter and Alphabet’s Google.
WhatsApp, however, has previously been fined for its alleged refusal to comply with Russian data law and store Russian users’ data on servers in the country.
The RIA news agency reported that Thursday’s fine was due to WhatsApp’s refusal to remove information about the drug Lyrica, whose sale and manufacture are prohibited in Russia.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside US business hours.
Moscow has for years clashed with Big Tech over content, censorship, data and local representation in disputes that escalated after Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.


Emirates, AWS to create new immersive XR platform for airline staff

Emirates, AWS to create new immersive XR platform for airline staff
Updated 31 May 2023

Emirates, AWS to create new immersive XR platform for airline staff

Emirates, AWS to create new immersive XR platform for airline staff
  • Platform will feature 3-D virtual hubs, virtual training, gamified environments, simulated experiences
  • New partnership to take advantage of AI evolution to revolutionize aviation industry: Emirates COO

LONDON: Emirates Group and Amazon Web Services on Wednesday announced a new partnership to develop an immersive extended reality platform for the UAE airline’s employees.

Designed specifically for cabin crew, new joiners, and industry partners, the new iXR platform will feature 3-D virtual hubs, virtual training, gamified environments, and simulated experiences.

Adel Al-Redha, Emirates’ chief operating officer, said: “Our vision is to build a meaningful, practical, and rewarding XR capability that takes advantage of artificial intelligence’s evolution.

“We are using XR capability that is scalable and spans across the breadth of our group’s brands and businesses.

“It reflects our commitment to spearhead and entrench innovation and cutting-edge technologies in aviation for the benefit of our customers, communities, and the industry.”

Powered by AWS spatial computing and AI, the first-of-its-kind platform will deliver technical capabilities with photorealistic experiences accessible across next-gen wearables, tablets, and mobile devices.

Initially, iXR will focus on a collaborative hub and social space, cabin crew training, and employee onboarding.

“In the first phase, iXR will help cabin crew interact and familiarise themselves with the platform in an interactive, high-fidelity 3-D environment which they can explore at their convenience, leading to greater knowledge transfer and employee satisfaction.

“During this phase, we will also develop our employee experience using iXR to seamlessly assimilate our people within the group’s business, community and culture,” Al-Redha added.

Emirates will also use the platform to transform the onboarding experience for new recruits, helping them “quickly and visually learn about the organization, its people, culture, and what it is like living in Dubai.”

AWS vice president of professional services, Al Opher, said the new partnership would have a profound impact on training, design, and innovative service propositions in the aviation industry, allowing staff to train in safe, immersive, performance-oriented, and efficient environments.

“Extended reality is a rapidly emerging technology that will propel the aviation industry into the future. Together, we are revolutionizing the travel industry and raising the bar for new, exemplary experiences,” Opher added.

Featuring advanced technologies such as Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, iXR is set to launch later this year, marking another milestone in Dubai and the UAE’s commitment to digital innovation and progress.


MENA video game revenues to hit $6bn by 2027

MENA video game revenues to hit $6bn by 2027
Updated 30 May 2023

MENA video game revenues to hit $6bn by 2027

MENA video game revenues to hit $6bn by 2027
  • E-sports enthusiasts worldwide to grow to 318m by 2025, with MENA constituting 15 percent of total
  • DMCC report also offers recommendations for businesses, governments to market growth

LONDON: The revenue for the gaming industry in the Middle East and North Africa region is set to reach $6 billion by 2027, almost doubling the figure from 2021, according to research by Dubai Multi Commodities Center.

The Future of Trade 2023 report highlights how the gaming industry in the MENA region is set to grow over the next few years, led by a young and digital-native population, high levels of connectivity and government support.

These factors are driving the region’s emergence as a consumer and creator hub.

“Gaming has come to the fore of entertainment globally, driving rapid growth especially in the MENA region, which now constitutes 15 percent of the global player base,” said Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO at DMCC.

Both gaming and esports are thriving. Leading the pack in the region are the UAE and Saudi Arabia, fueled by high incomes, digital engagement and public investment.

Globally, Asia-Pacific is the largest market with China, the US and Japan being the top players.

According to the report the global gaming market is expected to reach about $340 billion by 2027, from $198.4 billion in 2021. By 2025, there will be more than 318 million esports enthusiasts worldwide, up from 215.2 million in 2020.

Meanwhile, around 322.7 million people are projected to be occasional viewers of esports by 2025.

Sulayem said that the boom was partly due to the rise of “gamification” of sectors including education and healthcare. 

“Ensuring the accelerated growth of the gaming sector will have a measurable impact on the future of markets around the world, as well as the future of trade,” he said.

“As DMCC seeks to solidify Dubai’s reputation as a global trade and economic hub, efficiently activating opportunities within the gaming sector will prove essential.”

The report gathers contributions from key industry leaders including Jad El-Mir, Partner at Strategy&, and Klaus Kajetski, CEO and Founder of YaLLa Esports, to establish the critical drivers of the industry’s accelerated growth.

It also examines the impact on gaming and esports from a technology, culture and business perspective. It explores global trends and challenges, and MENA’s rise as a gaming hub.

Seeking to tap into its economic potential, DMCC in December partnered with YaLLa Esports, the Dubai-based professional esports organization, to launch the DMCC Gaming Centre.

The centre supports the growth of the gaming industry in Dubai by providing businesses with access to global capital, leading industry talent, and an ecosystem that allows them to operate efficiently and with confidence.

Thanks to the UAE’s robust business environment and strategic location, international gaming developers like Ubisoft, Tencent, and Riot Games have set up offices in the region.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has invested over $1.7 billion in the gaming industry and integrated it into its Neom project.


Iran starts trial of female journalist who covered Amini’s death

Iran starts trial of female journalist who covered Amini’s death
Updated 30 May 2023

Iran starts trial of female journalist who covered Amini’s death

Iran starts trial of female journalist who covered Amini’s death
  • Hamedi, along with another female journalist, Elaheh Mohammadi, who went on trial on Monday, face several charges including "colluding with hostile powers"
  • Iran's intelligence ministry in October accused Mohammadi and Hamedi, both imprisoned for over eight months, of being CIA foreign agents

DUBAI: A Revolutionary Court in Iran on Tuesday began the trial of a female journalist behind closed doors on charges linked to her coverage of a Kurdish-Iranian woman whose death in custody last year sparked months of unrest, her husband said on Twitter.
Mahsa Amini’s death while held by the morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code unleashed a wave of mass anti-government protests for months, posing one of the boldest challenges to the country’s clerical leaders in decades.
A photo taken by Niloofar Hamedi for the pro-reform Sharq daily showing Amini’s parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma was the first sign to the world that all was not well with 22-year-old Amini.
Tuesday’s trial session “ended in less than two hours while her lawyers did not get a chance to defend her and her family members were not allowed to attend the court,” Hamedi’s husband, Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou, said on Twitter.
“She denied all the charges against her and emphasized that she had performed her duty as a journalist based on the law.”
Hamedi, along with another female journalist, Elaheh Mohammadi, who went on trial on Monday, face several charges including “colluding with hostile powers” for their coverage of Amini’s death.
Iran’s intelligence ministry in October accused Mohammadi and Hamedi, both imprisoned for over eight months, of being CIA foreign agents.
Iran’s clerical rulers have blamed the protests on an array of enemies, including the United States, aimed at destabilising the Islamic Republic.