3 Things to Know About the TikTok Deal, and a New Protest Tactic in Minnesota
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Friday, January 23rd. Here's what we're covering. After a high-stakes, years-long legal saga, the Chinese company that owns TikTok has struck a deal to create a new U.S. version of the social media app. Under the agreement, the company ByteDance has brought in a group of non-Chinese investors who will now help run the platform for its 200 million-plus American users. Here are three things to know about the deal. First, why is there a deal at all? back in the pandemic as the app surged in popularity u.s lawmakers started to worry that it could be a national security risk with the chinese government potentially able to access personal information about americans or feed them propaganda that eventually led to a law that was supposed to have banned tiktok if it didn't break off from bite dance by early last year
But President Trump delayed enforcement of that law multiple times while he got personally involved in putting together a new arrangement of investors. So the second thing to know, who are those investors? ByteDance is still actually the biggest player, owning about 20% of the new venture. Other leading stakeholders include some major investment firms and Oracle, the cloud computing giant. Several of those new owners have ties to Trump, like Oracle's billionaire CEO Larry Ellison, who's made frequent visits to the White House. It is the latest example of the Ellison family's rapidly expanding influence over news and entertainment in the U.S. At this point, Larry and his son David control Paramount, which includes CBS, and are making a play for Warner Brothers Discovery.
And the third thing, what does this all mean for people who use TikTok? The short answer? It is too early to tell. You do not have to download a new app, and ByteDance will still be licensing its powerful recommendation algorithm to the American TikTok. But the new ownership will have the power to moderate content on the app, deciding which videos to leave up or take down. That's raised concerns among some experts and TikTok users that the new owners could try to influence what people see, potentially showing more posts aligned with the Trump administration's views.
We are not going to shop. We are not going to work. We are not going to school on Friday, January 23rd.
Today in Minnesota.
We are shutting down all the business in Mall 24 on Friday.
Hundreds of businesses are expected to close across the state as part of a general strike in protest of the Trump administration's ramped up immigration enforcement.
Don't show up to work. Don't spend no kind of money. We ain't going to the Mall of America. We're not going to no Burger King. We ain't doing none of that.
It comes as Minnesotans have been pushing back for weeks on the surge of federal agents there. The government has sent as many as 3,000, and their operation has led to thousands of arrests and at least two shootings, including the killing of Renee Good by an ICE officer. Local officials have called the deployment an invasion, as agents have fanned out in neighborhoods and used aggressive tactics, breaking car windows and deploying pepper spray in people's faces. At one point, they dragged a man, who turned out to be a U.S.
What are the three key things to know about the TikTok deal?
citizen, out of his house in his underwear in the snow. In another case that's gotten national attention this week, they detained a 5-year-old boy as he was coming home from pre-K with his dad. School officials said he was the fourth child in the district to be detained recently.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–4:12
2
What are the three key things to know about the TikTok deal?
4:12–6:40
3
Why was there a legal saga surrounding TikTok?
6:40–10:36
4
Who are the new investors involved in the TikTok deal?
10:36–13:56
5
What does the TikTok deal mean for users?
13:56–15:25
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Headlines
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