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TikTok could be banned this month. Here’s what users can do to prepare
TikTok has cemented itself as the quintessential entertainment app, offering everything from funny skits and makeup tutorials to social commentary and news. The platform, though, could vanish from U.S. app stores by Jan. 19. If you are an avid user – or a creator who relies on the platform for income – here’s what you need to know to prepare. First, users will continue to have access to TikTok if it’s already downloaded on their phones. But the app will disappear from Apple and Google’s app stores, which means users won’t be able to download or update it. There are also some workarounds around a ban. But some tech savviness is required and it’s not clear what will and won’t work.
Man pleads guilty in failed ransom plot that may have been linked to $240M crypto heist
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Florida man has pleaded guilty in connection with the carjacking and kidnapping of a Connecticut couple, in what authorities call a failed ransom plot that may have been linked to a $240 million cryptocurrency heist. Michael Rivas was one of six men arrested after the series of events in Danbury on Aug. 25. He has plead guilty Thursday to kidnapping and conspiracy in federal court in Hartford and is set to be sentenced in May. The couple were assaulted but survived the ordeal. Danbury police say the FBI was investigating whether the couple’s son was involved in a Bitcoin theft a week before the kidnapping.
One Tech Tip: Start the new year with a clean inbox
LONDON (AP) — For Jan. 9
Farming tech is on display at CES as companies showcase their green innovations and initiatives
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sustainability is a key theme this year at the annual CES tech trade show in Las Vegas. Agriculture tech is on full display on the show floor while companies big and small also showcase their green innovations and initiatives. That includes Volvo CEO Martin Lundstedt’s vow to reach net-zero emissions by 2040 and Wisconsin-based OshKosh Corporation’s electric fire engines and garbage trucks. John Deere also unveiled a fleet of fully autonomous equipment like tractors that are already in use on some farms and orchards. Some experts say AI is key to the industry’s future as climate change makes farming more unpredictable.
The ‘Worst in Show’ CES products put your data at risk and cause waste, privacy advocates say
LAS VEGAS (AP) — So much of the technology showcased at CES includes gadgets made to improve consumers’ lives — whether by leveraging AI to make devices that help people become more efficient, by creating companions to cure loneliness or by providing tools that help people with mental and physical health. But not all innovation is good, according to a panel of self-described dystopia experts that has judged some products as “Worst in Show.” The award that no company wants to win calls out the “least repairable, least private, and least sustainable products on display.”
TikTok’s fate arrives at Supreme Court in collision of free speech and national security
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a collision between free speech and national security, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over the fate of TikTok, a digital age cultural phenomenon that roughly half the U.S. population uses for entertainment and information. The case is being heard Friday. TikTok says it plans to shut down the social media platform in the U.S. by Jan. 19 unless the Supreme Court strikes down or otherwise delays the effective date of a law aimed at forcing TikTok’s sale by its Chinese parent company. Enforcement of the law would be left to the incoming Trump administration. President-elect Donald Trump has dropped his support for a TikTok ban. The court’s decision could come within days.
The Supreme Court is considering a possible TikTok ban. Here’s what to know about the case
WASHINGTON (AP) — The law that could ban TikTok is coming before the Supreme Court. The justices largely hold the app’s fate in their hands as they hear the case Friday. The popular social media platform says the law violates the First Amendment and should be struck down. The U.S. government argues that the app having a China-based parent company means it’s a potential national security threat. Three appeals court judges have sided with the government and upheld the law, which bans TikTok unless it’s sold. The law is set to take effect Jan. 19, right before a new term begins for President-elect Donald Trump. The Republican has asked for the law to be paused to “save TikTok.”
Musk uses X livestream to amplify German far-right leader’s views ahead of an election
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Elon Musk livestreamed his chat with a leader of Germany’s far-right party, using the power of his social media platform, X, to amplify the party’s message ahead of an upcoming national election. More than 200,000 accounts tuned into Thursday’s livestream, which raised concerns across Europe about the world’s richest man trying to influence foreign politics. The Tesla chief executive, who helped reelect Donald Trump in the United States, spoke with Alice Weidel, a co-leader of the Alternative for Germany party and its candidate for chancellor. They agreed that Germany’s taxes are too high and that there is too much immigration. Musk said he was “strongly recommending” that Germans vote for Weidel’s party in next month’s election.
Meta rolls back hate speech rules as Zuckerberg cites ‘recent elections’ as a catalyst
It wasn’t just fact-checking that Meta scrapped from its platforms as it prepares for the second Trump administration. The social media giant has also loosened its rules around hate speech and abuse, specifically when it comes to sexual orientation and gender identity as well as immigration status. The changes are worrying advocates for vulnerable groups, who say Meta’s decision to scale back content moderation could lead to real-word harms. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Tuesday that the company will remove restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that he said are out of touch with mainstream discourse. He cited recent elections as a catalyst.
Flying taxis are on the horizon as aviation soars into a new frontier
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — When he was still a boy making the long, tedious trips between his school and his woodsy home in the mountains during the 1980s, JoeBen Bevirt began fantasizing about flying cars that could whisk him to his destination in a matter of minutes. As CEO of Joby Aviation, Bevirt is getting closer to turning his boyhood flights of fancy into a dream come true as he and latter-day versions of the Wright Brothers building launch a new class of electric-powered aircraft vying to become taxis in the sky. They lift off the ground like a helicopter and then fly like airplanes capable of traveling at speeds of 200 miles per hour.