US: Biden freezes move to ban TikTok, WeChat

A Dutch parents group claims that TikTok is putting children at risk with its content and is collecting too much data. They claim the Chinese smartphone app is in breach of EU law.

US President Joe Biden has halted the move to ban the Chinese-developed apps as his adminsitration conducts their own review into whether they are really a national security threat.

For the second time this month, the video-sharing platform TikTok faces demands to pay more than €1 billion. The company has come under heavy scrutiny for its privacy regulations.

Multiple WeChat social media accounts belonging to campus LGBTQ groups were pulled from the Chinese social media network. An administrator involved said it happened to all the affected groups at once.

The hometown concert Ed Sheeran staged to celebrate the start of the UEFA Euro 2020 soccer tournament has shattered two TikTok records.

It is the fourth time that the wildly popular video sharing app has been blocked in Pakistan and the third time this year. Free speech advocates are critical of growing censorship since PM Imran Khan took office in 2018.

TikTok tests ability for five-minute videos

There are some cases of fake news that are clearer than others. Misinformation or blurring the lines of truth and propaganda is an art form that some TikTok accounts appear to have refined. We take a closer look at two examples concerning the war in Syria.

A 16-year-old girl learned a hand gesture on TikTok to signal for help. Law enforcement says it saved her life. The 16-year-old girl sat beside her alleged kidnapper, looking out the car window at the other people on the road — people who could save her, if they only knew what was happening.

A teenager in the United States was rescued after flashing a hand signal that was popularized on TikTok indicating domestic violence. Experts say sharing such resources on social media can help those most at risk.

The Observers, we caught up with a Syrian migrant who filmed himself crossing the Maritsa river from Turkey to Greece, in order to reach the European Union. He recounts his various trials crossing the river and being confronted by Greek border guards. Then, we go to the United States, where an unprecedented number of people are quitting their jobs, after being fed up with corporate culture and work-life balance during the Covid-19 pandemic. They've shared their #QuitMyJob stories on TikTok.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Saturday.⁣