Page 7 - Social Media Apps

Who undertakes film certification for OTT, social media platforms: HC

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has asked the Centre as to which authority undertakes film certification for the display of content on OTT and social media platforms. The court has asked the Centre and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to file a counter affidavit apprising it whether there is any other arrangement for OTT films or whether CBFC is authorised to give certificates to them too. The court has fixed August 13, 2024, for the next hearing of the case. The order was passed by a bench of justices Rajan Roy and Om Prakash Shukla on a PIL filed by Dipankar Kumar. In the petition, Kumar has alleged that objectionable comments have been made on the people of Bihar in 'Taktavar Policewala'- a Hindi adaptation of the Telugu movie 'Dhee Ante Dhee'. The petitioner said that the film, originally made in the Telugu language in 2015, is available on YouTube and demanded cancellation of the censor board certificate of the film. While hearing the petition, the ..

ByteDance asks US court to speed up lawsuit over divest-or-ban law

TikTok urged the appeals court to decide on the merits of the case by Dec. 6 so there is adequate time to request an emergency review by the Supreme Court

Twitter has officially moved over to 'X' domain, confirms Elon Musk

Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X in July 2023. However, Twitter domain remained in service since switching domain has not been as easy going as the logo switch

TikTok creators sue US govt over law that could ban popular platform

Eight TikTok content creators sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, issuing another challenge to the new federal law that would ban the popular social media platform nationwide if its China-based parent company doesn't sell its stakes within a year. Attorneys for the creators argued in the lawsuit that the law violates users' First Amendment rights to free speech, echoing legal arguments made by TikTok in a separate lawsuit filed by the company last week. The legal challenge could end up before the Supreme Court. The complaint filed Tuesday comes from a diverse set of content creators, including a Texas-based rancher who has previously appeared in a TikTok commercial, a creator in Arizona who uses TikTok to show his daily life and spread awareness about LGBTQ issues as well as a business owner who sells skincare products on TikTok Shop, the e-commerce arm of the platform. The lawsuit said the creators rely on TikTok to express themselves, learn, advocate for causes, share opinions, .

WhatsApp set to release new audio call bar feature: Here's how it works

Users will be able to easily mute or end the call directly, removing the need to navigate back to the call screen

Jack Dorsey quits X alternative Bluesky, company seeks new board member

Bluesky is a decentralised, text-based, invite-only social network that rose in prominence following Elon Musk's acquisition of X/Twitter

Instagram adds new stickers in Stories to boost creativity: How to use them

Instagram said it has included new stickers in Stories - Reveal, Cutout, Add Yours music, Frames - to let one create and engage more with others

TikTok may be dragged into US addiction lawsuits against social media firms

TikTok's Beijing-based parent, ByteDance Ltd, is refusing to share information with the US lawyers about its platforms in China and other countries, saying it's not relevant to the ongoing litigation

The Koo story: Bottlenecks in building, sustaining Indian competitor of X

Homegrown microblogging platform Koo has, however, been India's most successful attempt at recreating the X model

Lawsuit asks if Facebook users can control their feeds using external tools

Do social media users have the right to control what they see or don't see on their feeds? A lawsuit filed against Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. is arguing that a federal law often used to shield internet companies from liability also allows people to use external tools to take control of their feed even if that means shutting it off entirely. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Meta Platforms on behalf of an Amherst professor who wants to release a tool that enables users to unfollow all the content fed to them by Facebook's algorithm. The tool, called Unfollow Everything 2.0, is a browser extension that would let Facebook users unfollow friends, groups and pages and empty their newsfeed the stream of posts, photos and videos that can keep them scrolling endlessly. The idea is that without this constant, addicting stream of content, people might use it less. If the past is any indication, Meta will not be keen on t

TikTok's US-based general counsel Erich Andersen to step down from role

Erich Andersen, the US-based general counsel for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd, is stepping down from that role, the social media app said

TikTok faces ban in US: Which countries have banned the app and why?

National security, data privacy and 'protecting youth from being misled' are among reasons cited

Senate passes bill forcing ByteDance to divest TikTok's US ops or face ban

TikTok, which says it has not shared and would not share US user data with the Chinese government, has argued the law amounts to a ban that would violate the US free speech rights of its users

US banning TikTok? Everything you need to know about the controversy

No, TikTok will not suddenly disappear from your phone. Nor will you go to jail if you continue using it after it is banned. After years of attempts to ban the Chinese-owned app, including by former President Donald Trump, a measure to outlaw the popular video-sharing app has won congressional approval and is on its way to President Biden for his signature. The measure gives Beijing-based parent company ByteDance nine months to sell the company, with a possible additional three months if a sale is in progress. If it doesn't, TikTok will be banned. So what does this mean for you, a TikTok user, or perhaps the parent of a TikTok user? Here are some key questions and answers. WHEN DOES THE BAN GO INTO EFFECT? The original proposal gave ByteDance just six months to divest from its U.S. subsidiary, negotiations lengthened it to nine. Then, if the sale is already in progress, the company will get another three months to complete it. So it would be at least a year before a ban goes into

TikTok promises to sue over potential US ban. What's the legal outlook?

Legislation forcing TikTok's parent company to sell the video-sharing platform or face a ban in the U.S. received President Joe Biden's official signoff Wednesday. But the newly minted law could be in for an uphill battle in court. Critics of the sell-or-be-banned ultimatum argue it violates TikTok users' First Amendment rights. The app's China-based owner, ByteDance, has already promised to sue, calling the measure unconstitutional. But a court challenge's success is not is not guaranteed. The law's opponents, which include advocacy organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, maintain that the government hasn't come close to justifying banning TikTok, while others say national-security claims could still prevail. For years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concerns that Chinese authorities could force ByteDance to hand over U.S. user data, or influence Americans by suppressing or promoting certain content on TikTok. The U.S. has yet to provide public .

US ban on TikTok looms with Biden poised to start 270-day countdown

Under the bill, Biden has the option to extend that deadline by an additional 90 days if he sees progress toward a sale. That would push a possible ban well into the next presidential term

Australia condemns X's fight against removal of Sydney attack images

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticised the broadcast of violent images and said some social media content exacerbated the pain of many people

US ban on TikTok over ownership issues gets major boost from Republicans

Legislation that could ban TikTok in the US if its China-based owner doesn't sell its stake won a major boost late Wednesday when House Republican leaders included it in a package of bills that would send aid to Ukraine and Israel. The bill could be law as soon as next week if Congress moves quickly. The TikTok legislation, which passed the House in March and has widespread support in both chambers, was included in the House foreign policy package after negotiations with the Senate over how long the Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd would have to sell its stake for the app to continue operating in the United States. President Joe Biden has said he would sign the TikTok legislation if it reaches his desk. The bill was included in the national security package after it won a key endorsement from Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, who said in a statement that she had successfully pushed to extend the period from six months to a year to give the company enough time

After NSE, BSE cautions against fake video of its chief recommending stocks

After the National Stock Exchange (NSE), rival bourse BSE on Thursday cautioned investors against deepfake videos of its MD and CEO Sundararaman Ramamurthy giving stock recommendations. In a statement, the exchange said it has noticed some fake, unauthorized and fraudulent videos and audios created through innovative and ingenious technology impersonating the BSE's top honcho are being circulated on social media recommending certain investments and advisory in stocks. In fact, BSE said its managing director and chief executive officer does not initiate or endorse any such communication through Facebook or any other social media platform. Also, the exchange asked investors not to trust such videos and audios and not to follow fake recommendations or unsolicited communication circulated through deceptive means impersonating Ramamurthy. Further, the exchange said it will initiate all possible steps to prevent misrepresentation by unknown elements. "In the meantime, investors/public a

What is Airchat, an audio-first social media app with Twitter-like feed

Airchat is an invite-only audio-first social media app like Clubhouse but with a Twitter-like content feed for a familiar experience