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Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian Sr. has his eyes on a new application. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, TikTok had been temporarily banned as a result of not adhering to a U.S. mandate requiring the China-based app to be sold to a U.S. company. On April 24, 2024, former President Joe Biden had signed a law mandating the sale due to concerns about national security and data safety for U.S. citizens . Owned by ByteDance, TikTok was offline just hours before the ban was to go into effect on Jan. 19, 2025. However, users were able to access the app shortly because President Donald Trump affirmed he was looking to save it. Trump took office on Jan. 20 and extended the ban by 75 days allowing more time for a deal to be made. Since then, many individuals have stepped forward to express their interest in buying TikTok. This includes content creator MrBeast, aka Jimmy Donaldson, who has more than 115 million followers on the platform (at the time of this writing). @mrbeast TikTok check your...
If you’ve grown up in the digital age , you likely have some understanding of how unreliable information spreads across the net. Millennials far and wide have been inundated with enough YouTube troll comments, Nigerian prince emails and “free iPhone” pop-ups to build a healthy skepticism of internet browsing. Now, it seems that this learning curve has become a perennial part of growing up, as Gen Z and Gen Alpha are surmising that social media apps like TikTok are rife with terrible financial advice. New studies from researchers at Intuit Credit Karma estimate that over 77 percent of Gen Z kids are looking to influencers on the short-form video app for money management, while roughly 61 percent of millennials are doing the same on YouTube and Facebook . In order to understand just how damaging these financial words of wisdom can be to a growing audience of youngsters, lets take a moment to briefly run through the data, and see exactly where young people are being led astray. After...
Welcome to HillmanTok University, where everyone is accepted, and TikTok is your classroom. Thousands of professors have taken their talents to TikTok, documenting their course offerings and allowing students, or users, outside the typical classroom setting to participate in the curriculum. The trend, known as “HillmanTok,” started with Dr. Barlow, an African American Studies professor, who utilized the social media platform to engage with her actual students. As her videos gained more traction, other minority professors followed suit. Now, teachers worldwide are helping students merge their love for TikTok with their desire to learn. TikToker @djneurospicy explained that the outpouring of support for Barlow’s efforts follows the decision of 92% of Black women who voted for Kamala Harris in the Nov. 4, 2025, election to not focus on Donald Trump’s second presidency. “Here’s how it goes: Trump becomes president, the 92% say they are minding their own business,” the TikToker said....
Microsoft reportedly has an interest in acquiring TikTok. According to BBC, President Donald Trump has revealed the tech company would like to purchase the platform and adds that there is “great interest in TikTok” from several companies.” At the time of this writing, Microsoft nor TikTok have confirmed or denied the matter. The update comes after 170 million users in the United States were temporarily left in the dark on Jan. 18, 2025, a day ahead of the app’s mandated ban by the U.S. government. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, last year former President Joe Biden signed a law requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a U.S.-based company or it would be banned on Jan. 19 due to national security concerns. The Supreme Court unanimously voted to uphold the ban. Despite this, TikTok maintained its position on not selling to a U.S. company and took TikTok and its other applications — such as Marvel Snap, Lemon8, Hypic, and CapCut — offline in the U.S. The apps...
TikTok is a home for brands to thrive. The platform, which is home to 170 million active users in the United States alone, is becoming a trusted destination. According to TikTok’s 2025 What’s Next report, 81% of users were exposed to new topics and trends that they were not aware were initially of interest to them. It’s for these reasons that the term “demure” took off in 2024. It was popularized by TikTok creator Jools Lebron through a series of witty videos and was named Dictionary.com’s 2024 Word of the Year. “It’s changed the way we shop. It’s changed the way we travel. It’s changed the way we search. It’s even changed the way we speak,” said Head of North America Business Marketing TikTok Rema Vasan during CES 2025. The Power Of Tuning Into The Comment Section Through TikTok, brands have the ability to strengthen their connection with consumers. In fact, users are primed to see their favorite brands on TikTok, with 68% affirming the importance of brands engaging in their...
Everyone loves a good story about a career “come-up,” and Shou Zi Chew has one that includes an unexpected stop: a brief internship at Meta (then called Facebook). While most know Chew as the CEO of TikTok, his career path holds some interesting twists that shaped the leader he is today. According to Fortune magazine, Chew spent a short stint at Meta in 2009 while at Harvard Business School. This was during a time of rapid growth for the company under founder Mark Zuckerberg’s leadership. For Chew, the experience offered a firsthand look at the challenges of scaling a tech platform globally. Immersed in the fast-paced environment, he gained valuable insights that would later influence his leadership approach. From Meta Intern To TikTok CEO Chew’s time at Meta may have been short, but it was an important stepping stone in his career. After completing his MBA at Harvard Business School, he went on to work at Goldman Sachs and later DST Global, where he contributed to securing...
Meta has released an alternative to CapCut. The popular video-editing app was temporarily shut down the night of Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025, following a TikTok ban. As AFROTECH™ previously reported TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, had been mandated to sell its app to a company based in the United States or it would be banned. The U.S. had concerns over the spreading of misinformation and China’s possible access to user data . ByteDance has maintained a stance that it will not sell TikTok, and hours before the ban was to become active, several of its apps were removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The ban officially went into effect on Jan. 19 and impacted ByteDance’s subsidiaries such as TikTok, Lemon8, Marvel Snap, Lark, Hypic, and CapCut, USA Today notes. Apple shared in a statement on its website: “Pursuant to the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, apps developed by ByteDance Ltd . and its subsidiaries — including TikTok,...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Last week, the Chinese social app RedNote grew in popularity as a potential TikTok replacement . As TikTok users waited for the Supreme Court to rule on the ban, they quickly migrated to the platform. The app became number one in the Apple App Store, with thousands of American users joining. Users have mistakenly referred to RedNote as the Chinese version of TikTok, but the platform is more akin to Instagram. RedNote, also known as Xiaohongshu in China, launched in 2013 as a shopping platform. Like many apps, it serves as a default search engine for content on makeup, fashion, travel, and lifestyle tips. Users can post photos and videos in a similar fashion to Instagram Reels and TikTok. The migration from TikTok to RedNote has become a protest statement in the wake of the U.S. government’s ban on TikTok. Initially, calls to ban the app began with President Donald Trump in 2020 before being passed...
Shou Zi Chew, CEO of TikTok, is at the center of one of the most debated tech platforms in the world. Born and raised in Singapore, Chew’s career spans finance and tech leadership, bringing a mix of expertise and experience to the table as TikTok faces significant global challenges. From Singapore to Global Business According to Business Insider, Chew earned a degree in economics from University College London and later completed his MBA at Harvard Business School — he also interned at Facebook his first year at Harvard. He began his career at Goldman Sachs in investment banking before transitioning to DST Global, where he worked on major investments, including one in ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. Chew later served as chief financial officer of Xiaomi, a Chinese electronics company known for its affordable smartphone devices. During his tenure, Xiaomi expanded its global footprint and went public in 2018. His experience in managing high-growth companies positioned him for...
TikTok will remain operational for at least another 75 days following an order from President Donald Trump. On Monday, Jan. 19, 2025, during his first day in office , Trump — who has the authority to delay the ban for up to 90 days — ordered the federal government to pause enforcing the law that would ban TikTok nationwide, according to Forbes. The move gives ByteDance, the China-based owner of TikTok, more time to sell a stake in the platform or reach a deal with Trump. After signing the executive order, Trump said he believes the U.S. is entitled to 50% of TikTok and warned China that blocking any deal he may make would be considered an act of “hostility” and lead him to impose tariffs ranging from 25% to 100%, per Forbes. On Sunday, Jan. 20, Trump had promised to sign an executive order on Monday rescinding the ban, prompting TikTok to restore service for its more than 170 million American users after it initially took the app dark the night before. STATEMENT FROM TIKTOK: In...
Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. TikTok may go dark in the United States. As a former TikTok employee, the way the ban will work here in the United States will be different than the one in India in 2020. The first difference is the politics surrounding why the bans are happening in the two countries in the first place. In India, the ban was less about TikTok and more so about the strained relationship between India and China. The root of their strain comes from the dispute that China and India have related to who owns Aksai Chin, which India claims to be part of its Ladakh region. China has claimed the land since 1962 and the Sino-Indian War. Due to the longstanding tensions between the two countries since, India opted to use economic tools against China, which in this case meant banning Chinese companies from doing business in India. When TikTok was banned from India so were WeChat, Alibaba, and Xiaomi. In the United States,...
There is still optimism surrounding the future of creators amid the looming TikTok ban. This sentiment is felt by Eddie Rizzo, who serves as the VP of marketing at WORTHI, a full-service cultural connections agency on a mission to grow brands and build IP all while amplifying people of color. In 2024, Rizzo managed nearly $1 million in creator partnerships primarily on TikTok for BIPOC creators and clients such as Paramount+, Max, Google, GoFundMe, Amazon, and more. “My mission as the VP of Marketing at WORTHI is to grow and develop the best of the best team of predominantly BIPOC and LGBTQ+ strategists and creatives to deliver impactful work for our clients that’s intrinsically culture-forward from the inside out because we live and breathe culture,” he told AFROTECH™ in an interview. “This aligns with our company’s overall vision of unlocking the business value and cultural impact of historically underestimated communities.” Looking to the current landscape, Rizzo acknowledges the...
The Supreme Court upholds the U.S. bill that would essentially ban TikTok. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Court demonstrated that it was “likely” to rule in favor of banning the application owned by ByteDance. A ban would result in the app no longer being available in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and over time U.S. users who have already downloaded the app would no longer be able to make system updates. TikTok has said the app would be wiped from phones if the ban is enforced. The Supreme Court’s stance supports a bipartisan bill that had been signed in April 2024 by President Joe Biden requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based company or face a ban of the app, according to NPR. There were national security concerns by the president and Congress surrounding China’s data access and the spreading of misinformation. TikTok is not in favor of the ban that would go into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, as its owners believe a ban restricts free speech. “The Supreme...
As American social media users brace for the Jan. 19 TikTok ban , thousands have begun searching for alternative apps to satiate their doom scrolling fix. While many American-based tech CEO’s such as Mark Zuckerberg had hoped that the TikTok ban would encourage users to flock to other short-form video players such as Instagram or YouTube Shorts, it seems that the masses have stumbled onto an unknown gem called Xiaohongshu instead. The app, which translates to RedNote in English, is owned by a Shanghai-based company known as Xingyin Information Technology, and touts itself as a lifestyle, social networking and e-commerce service . Given that RedNote primarily serves a Chinese audience, it defaults to Mandarin upon download, and exposes new users to an audience of hundreds of millions of overseas subscribers. The sudden influx of so-called “TikTok refugees” has caused RedNote to skyrocket in popularity, taking it to the number one position among the free apps chart on both the Apple...
While the Supreme Court appears likely to uphold a ban on TikTok, President-elect Donald Trump seems to have different plans. TikTok Ban On Sunday, Jan. 19, the app is expected to be banned in the United States under the contingency that its parent company, ByteDance, does not follow a mandate to sell the app to a U.S.-based company, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “On January 19th, as I understand it, we shut down,” TikTok lawyer Noel Francisco said in January hearing with the Supreme Court, per NPR. What’s The Issue? The potential TikTok ban is a result of concerns related to user data and the spreading of misinformation. However, TikTok, which has more than 170 million active users, argues this is in violation of the U.S. First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech. “The Supreme Court has an established historical record of protecting Americans’ right to free speech, and we expect they will do just that on this important constitutional issue,” TikTok previously said in a...