From Hunter to Hunted: Chinese Diplomat Liu Jianchao's Ironic Reckoning
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Forbes
20 minutes ago
- Forbes
Why China Is Dunking On The Trump Administration's New TikTok Account
As TikTok fast approaches another potential ban in the U.S., the Chinese government is refusing to let its algorithm be sold. Future Publishing via Getty Images As the Trump administration approaches the end of its third legally dubious extension of the TikTok sale-or-ban law, the Chinese Communist Party is making one thing very clear: the app's For You algorithm, developed by the app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, will not be sold anytime soon. That's because last time ByteDance tried to sell the algorithm — under threat of a TikTok ban during President Trump's first term — the Chinese government changed its export rules at the last minute to prevent the company from making the sale. Today, the CCP reiterated its stance on a TikTok sale in an editorial in the state-owned media outlet China Daily. The editorial began by applauding the Trump White House for creating an official TikTok Account — and gloating at the inconsistency between the White House's actions and Congress's ban of TikTok for national security reasons last year. 'TikTok's appeal and effectiveness as a communication channel has not been lost on even the White House,' it opened. 'That the White House launched its own account on the app less than one month before the third extended deadline expires only serves to expose the hypocrisy of the U.S. side's alleged 'security' charges against TikTok.' Then, the editorial went on to remind readers that ByteDance, as a Chinese company, 'must comply with Chinese laws and regulations,' and that Chinese law 'prohibits the export of core technologies such as short video algorithms, drawing a red line for the TikTok transaction.' The editorial expressed hope that Trump would indefinitely extend his non-enforcement of the binding U.S. law that requires TikTok to be sold to a non-Chinese company or banned in the U.S. The Chinese government's stance does not necessarily mean that Trump and ByteDance will abandon efforts to make some kind of a deal. But it does mean that sale of the For You algorithm — which is core to TikTok's function and appeal — won't be on the table. TikTok has been planning for this eventuality. In May, Reuters reported that the company was working on creating a U.S.-only clone of the For You algorithm, which could be used in a potential separation of U.S. TikTok from the existing app. (It is unclear whether the Chinese government would take issue with TikTok launching a U.S. only algorithm, if that algorithm is based in whole or in part on the Chinese asset whose sale the CCP has barred.) In July, The Information reported that the company was working on a separate U.S. TikTok app, to be launched in early September, before Trump's impending September 17 deadline. If TikTok does proceed with launching a U.S.-only app, it will have to be powered by an algorithm of some kind. The Chinese government is suggesting that algorithm can't be ByteDance's trademark For You Page. The status of a clone algorithm is still up in the air, both technologically and legally. So TikTok may be — at least in the short-to-medium term — somewhat stuck. In the meantime, Trump may do what he has done before and grant yet another extension, allowing the company to continue operating in the U.S. in violation of binding U.S. law. But Trump's own Commerce Secretary, Howard Lutnick, has been singing a different tune, saying that TikTok will go dark in September unless the Chinese government approves a sale. Trump and the Chinese government might also agree to a non-sale sale: an agreement that allows functional Chinese control over TikTok to continue, but gives Trump the cosmetic win of closing a deal of some kind. Such a deal would likely violate the law that Congress passed last year — but the burden would fall on Congress and the courts to require compliance. As the third extension moves toward expiration, one of two things seems certain: either Trump will continue to flout the law and allow TikTok to remain under Chinese control, or TikTok will change — somewhat dramatically — because the tech that has defined it will be out of reach. More From Forbes Forbes With Trump's TikTok Ban On Hold, ByteDance Is Quietly Launching AI Apps By Emily Baker-White Forbes TikTokers Are Claiming Credit For Trump's Parade Attendance By Emily Baker-White Forbes Trump's Deadline For A TikTok Deal Is Almost Up. Here Are 5 Things To Watch By Emily Baker-White
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
National Guard vehicle collides with civilian car, traps one person near US Capitol
WASHINGTON — A National Guard vehicle collided with a civilian car less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning as troops continued to take up positions around the city during President Donald Trump's crackdown. One person was trapped inside the car after the accident and had to be extricated by emergency responders, according to D.C. fire department spokesman Vito Maggiolo. The person was transported to a hospital with minor injuries. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. A video posted online showed a tan-colored armored vehicle and a silver SUV with a crushed side. The military vehicle was twice the height of the civilian car. A National Guard vehicle collided with a civilian car near the US Capitol Thursday morning, trapping one person inside. AFP via Getty Images 'You come to our city and this is what you do? Seriously?' a woman yelled at the troops in the video. The driver was conscious and breathing, and the injuries were not considered life threatening, police said. The military vehicle was twice the height of the civilian car and the person trapped inside was later transported to a hospital with minor injuries. Bonnie Cash/UPI/Shutterstock An estimated 1,900 troops are being deployed in D.C. More than half are coming from Republican-led states that are responding to requests from Trump administration officials. Attorney General Pam Bondi said more than 550 people have been arrested so far, and the U.S. Marshals are offering $500 rewards for information leading to additional arrests. 'Together, we will make DC safe again!' Bondi wrote on social media.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Microsoft workers rename HQ ‘Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza' during anti-Israel protest
Dozens of anti-Israel Microsoft employees, many wearing face masks and keffiyes, swarmed the company's headquarters in Washington state to protest the Big Tech giant's ties to Israel's military. The protesters set up tents in a 'liberated zone' on the Redmond campus, renaming it the 'Martyred Palestinian Children's Plaza' — and toted signs that urged co-workers to 'Join the worker intifada: no labor for genocide.' Other placards said 'stop starving Gaza.' A group calling itself 'No Azure For Apartheid' organized Tuesday's sit-in after The Guardian reported that an Israeli military intelligence agency was using Microsoft's Azure software to amass recordings of phone calls made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. 4 Microsoft said the workers were asked to leave and did so. Bloomberg via Getty Images 'Once again, the enablers of genocide and apartheid choose to criminalize those that oppose the bombing of Palestinians, rather than the war criminals ethnically cleansing and starving our people in Palestine,' the group — an offshoot of No Tech For Apartheid — wrote on X. The group also published a lengthy manifesto calling for a 'worker intifada' and stating that 'it would not be cogs in the Israeli genocidal machine.' 'The group was asked to leave, and they left,' a Microsoft spokesperson told The Post on Wednesday. About 50 current and former Microsoft workers took part in the sit-in, company officials said. Microsoft had said it was not aware 'of the surveillance of civilians or collection of their cellphone conversations using Microsoft's services' and would conduct a formal review of the allegations. 4 The workers were protesting Microsoft's work with the Israeli military. Bloomberg via Getty Images The protest was the latest sign of ongoing unrest at Microsoft over its contracts with Israel. 4 Microsoft employees called for a 'worker intifada.' Bloomberg via Getty Images In May, the company reportedly began barring employees from using certain words in company emails, including 'Palestine,' 'Gaza' and 'genocide.' It also fired a software engineer who interrupted a speech by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to protest the help given to the Israel's military. 4 A group called 'No Azure For Apartheid' led the protest. Elsewhere, Google fired more than two dozen employees last year for disruptive anti-Israel protests at its offices. As The Post exclusively reported, Big Tech employees were among the biggest individual donors to New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani's campaign. the Demcratic socialist has faced heat during the campaign cycle over his refusal to back away from the phrase 'globalize the intifada.'
