Yesterday, on multiple occasions, I noticed young people filming videos for TikTok, and I'm pretty sure I ended up in the background of a few.

Today, for the very first time, I decided to install the app and search for the location's hashtag. I found way more videos than I expected, though I didn't spot myself.

As I kept scrolling, driven by whatever logic fuels their algorithm, the content started to shift. In no time at all, I was flooded with videos of young girls, not all of them adults, in explicit poses and highly revealing clothes. They were performing (what they clearly thought were) sensual dances, all following the exact same trend and the same background music. Then came the boys, doing something similar but different, flexing and showing off their bodies as if they were standing in front of a mirror.

I kept scrolling without pausing, as none of this holds even the slightest interest for me.

Eventually, I stumbled upon what I assume was some kind of "challenge": young girls simulating sexual acts to entertain their male friends, all synced to the beat of the music. It was quite explicit, even if they weren't actually showing skin. The captions said something along the lines of "Can we still stay best friends?" or something similar.

For a brief moment, I felt like decades of "we are more than just bodies" and hard-fought battles for women's respect had just gone up in smoke - all reduced to cheap sexual innuendos in exchange for a few likes.

Maybe I'm just getting old. But I uninstalled the app without a second thought.

#TikTok #SocialNetworks #Trends

"Under the announced deal, ByteDance would still control all the essential elements of TikTok. Such a deal would subvert the very purpose of ​the TikTok Law, as ​ByteDance could continue to push ⁠Chinese propaganda & #censor the #content it does not like," said the lawsuit.

#law #Trump #PamBondi #ByteDance #TikTok

#ByteDance said #TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC -- which was finalized in January & is 80% ‌owned by ⁠non-Chinese investors -- would secure #US #user #data, apps & algorithms through data #privacy & #cybersecurity measures. It disclosed few details about the divestiture or the financial arrangements.

#law #Trump #PamBondi

The lawsuit does not seek to force a ban on #TikTok, which is used ​by 200 million Americans.

#Congress passed #legislation in April 2024 requiring #ByteDance to sell its US assets by January 2025 or face a ban or potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in fines -- but #Trump opted not ​to enforce the law & #PamBondi told companies they would face no liability for continuing ​to allow TikTok use.

#law

The lawsuit was filed in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by ​the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two retail US investors in rival #socialmedia firms. It aims to require a renegotiation of the deal "that doesn't put ⁠administration allies in a position to #censor #political #content on one of the world's most ​popular #media platforms."

#law #Trump #PamBondi #ByteDance #TikTok

#Trump, Bondi face lawsuit over approval of #ByteDance #TikTok US asset sale

Trump & Attorney General #PamBondi were sued ​Thursday over the US government's approval of a deal by TikTok's Chinese owner ‌ByteDance to establish a majority American-owned joint venture, saying the approval was illegal & did not meet the requirements of a 2024 #law.

https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-bondi-face-lawsuit-over-approval-bytedance-tiktok-us-asset-sale-2026-03-05/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement

#Meta & #Google have denied the allegations, & pointed to their work to add features that keep users safe. Meta has often pointed to a NAS finding that research does not show #socialmedia changes #kids' #MentalHealth.

The lawsuit is a test case for similar claims in a larger group of cases against Meta, #Alphabet's Google, #Snap & #TikTok. Families, school districts & states have filed thousands of lawsuits in the #US accusing the companies of fueling a #youth mental health crisis.

#law #tech