San Francisco Suspect Arrested After Molotov Cocktail Attack on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's Home 
SanDisk Joins Nasdaq-100, Replacing Atlassian on April 20 
Alibaba Shares Slide as Jefferies Slashes Price Target Over AI Spending and Business Losses 
U.S. Automakers Push Back Against EU Rules Blocking American Trucks from European Market 
Goldman Sachs, ANZ Cut Oil Forecasts Amid U.S.-Iran Ceasefire Hopes 
Rio Tinto's California Boron Assets Attract Over a Dozen Bidders, Valued at Up to $2 Billion 
TSMC Japan's Second Fab to Produce 3nm Chips by 2028 
China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030 
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Posts Strong Q3 Earnings, Announces AI-Driven Job Cuts 
MATCH Act Targets ASML and Chinese Chipmakers in New U.S. Export Crackdown 
Annie Altman Amends Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman 
OpenAI Executive Shake-Up Ahead of Anticipated 2026 IPO 
China's Push to Steal Taiwan's Chip Technology and Talent Raises Security Alarms 
Apple Turns 50: From Garage Startup to AI Crossroads 
Pilots Fear Retaliation for Refusing Middle East Flights Amid Ongoing Conflict 
Disney Plans to Cut 1,000 Jobs Amid Ongoing Restructuring Efforts 
NIO ES9 SUV Launch Sends HK Shares Down 7% Despite Bold Pricing Strategy 
United States FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has renewed efforts of the previous administration to limit TikTok’s operations in the country. While the Chinese-owned social media app is not facing another total ban, Carr has urged Apple and Google to remove it from its digital stores.
Carr shared a copy of his letter addressed to the tech giants last week, where he referenced a recent Buzzfeed News report claiming China-based ByteDance employees have more access to data collected from users in the U.S. “It is clear that TikTok poses an unacceptable national security risk due to its extensive data being combined with Beijing’s apparently unchecked access to that data,” Carr wrote. Apple and Google have yet to publicly comment on Carr’s letter.
TikTok is not just another video app.
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) June 28, 2022
That’s the sheep’s clothing.
It harvests swaths of sensitive data that new reports show are being accessed in Beijing.
I’ve called on @Apple & @Google to remove TikTok from their app stores for its pattern of surreptitious data practices. pic.twitter.com/Le01fBpNjn
Buzzfeed News said it obtained audio recordings of 80 internal meetings. The publication noted that the leaked audio revealed 14 statements from various TikTok employees that suggest staff in ByteDance’s office in China were able to access data from the U.S., at least, between September 2021 and January this year.
One of the employees reportedly commented that “everything is seen in China” with regards to TikTok user data. Another staff member was also heard calling a TikTok engineer based in Beijing the “Master Admin” for having “access to everything.”
ByteDance’s shaky relations with the U.S. government peaked when former President Donald Trump issued an executive order that would have effectively banned TikTok in the country. But the former administration was open to allowing the Chinese company to keep its operations if it sold its US business to an American company. TikTok sought a deal with Microsoft that ultimately fell through just weeks after Trump signed the EO.
The developer later entered negotiations with Oracle and Walmart that reportedly included a proposal for the American companies to own 20 percent of TikTok’s business in the U.S. The deal was later shelved following President Joe Biden’s reported efforts to review security risks posed by Chinese tech companies. But Biden signed an EO revoking Trump’s previous order, allowing TikTok to continue operating in the country.
Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash
