Everything You Need to Know About the US TikTok Ban
Good day,
And welcome weekly free readers! Today's edition of the newsletter will keep you the most up to date and informed on the TikTok situation in the US, plus interpret that Meta earnings report in a way that doesn't mean you need an economist degree.
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Tom
Big Story
"Zuckerberg: It will take Meta years to make money from generative AI - The Verge"
"Meta's Reality Labs posts $3.85 billion loss in first quarter"
"Threads has 150 million monthly users"
Meta announced earnings and as you may know, I'm less interested in the financial details and more int he trends and any numbers that indicate how many of us are using their products. So, for financials it's mostly good news, with revenue up 27%, though you'll see some doom and gloom from investors because the guidance on revenue for the next quarter was lower than they wanted and Meta said it will increase its spending on AI infrastructure.
Speaking of spending all that money on AI, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said tens of millions of people have tried the Tea AI assistant launched last week and expects to be able to make money off its AI products someday by offering business messaging, ads, or paid subscriptions. When is that day coming? Zuckerberg said, "building the leading AI will also be a larger undertaking than the other experiences we’ve added to our apps, and this is likely going to take several years.”
Meanwhile Meta has a couple of other businesses expected to contribute to the bottom line before that. Meta's Reality Labs, which houses its VR and AR stuff, revenue rose 30% and lost less money than expected. And Threads has added 20 million users since February to reach 150 million monthly users. Apptopia estimates it has more daily users in the US now than X does. Meta will have to monetize Threads at some point.
Tik Tok Breifing
And now it's time for the TikTok breakdown. I'll recap and then go through a few stories that are adding to the narrative.
For those just joining here are the basic facts
- The US now has a law that says Bytedance must sell TikTok within 9 months or companies will be ordered not to distribute the TikTok app and service in the US. The president at their discretion can extend that to 12 months if needed. The law also gives the president discretion to identify further apps controlled by a foreign adversary to receive the same order.
- Bytedance will challenge this in court on grounds that it is a violation of the US first amendment, and is likely to prevail, though it's not impossible it could lose on national security grounds if the US can provide convincing evidence.
OK, here's the latest news then!
"ByteDance denies media report of plan to sell TikTok | Reuters"
The Information cited sources in Bytedance saying the company is "internally exploring scenarios" in which it would sell a majority stake in the US version of TikTok. Bytedance posted on its Chinese media platform Toutiao that it has no plan to sell TikTok. Both can be true. It would be due diligence for investors to explore the scenarios so when you refuse to sell you can show investors what you were giving up.
"What Is TikTok Worth? Some Say $20 Billion, Others Say $100 Billion - WSJ"
Short version is TikTok is worth $20 billion if you just sell the US version without the algorithm. $100 billion if you sell the international non-Chinese collection of companies with the algorithm. All pretty academic in my opinion since I see very little chance Bytedance sells.
"In the face of bans, ByteDance tightens grip over US TikTok operations | Ars Technica"
This is a good story, but it doesn't do anything to make me change my opinion on the whole scenario. The question of whether Bytedance is a Chinese company or not is a little silly. To me it depends on why you're asking. If you want to know if the people who ultimately tun the company are Chinese, the answer is definitively yes. They are in Beijing and they're mainland Chinese. If you want to know if legally the company is Chinese, the answer is no. It's a Cayman Islands Company which owns other Cayman Islands Companies and LLCS domiciled in various other regions. So, it's subject to multiple jurisdictions. A lot of folks hand wave that distinction away, but it's somewhat unique in Chinese companies, and while it certainly doesn't limit Chinese influence it does put more road blocks in the way than most other Chinese companies have. China very much doesn't want its companies incorporating outside China or even listing on non-Chinese stock exchanges.
The rest of the article will be recognizable to any western worker who has worked for an Asian-owned company. There are different cultures. Though this article shows that TikTok sounds like a particularly miserable place to work.
"The impact of TikTok’s ban in other countries could signal what’s ahead for the US | TechCrunch"
TikTok is banned in Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Senegal, Somalia, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. Most of those countries ban a lot of western apps and TikTok presents as a very western app worldwide. The only ban that seems comparable to a potential US ban is the one in India, with Nepal's a close second, just a much smaller market. India didn't force a sale, it just banned distribution of a load of Chinese companies' apps including TikTok. Disappointingly, TechCrunch only lists the effect of Creators having to move their posts to multiple apps after TikTok was banned in India. That's a wise move anyway as my friend Lamarr Wilson constantly tries to tell fellow creators. The other effects I've seen noted are that it changed which creators were on top during the scramble and boosted Meta's Instagram and YouTube.
"TikTok pulls feature from Lite app in EU over addiction concerns | TechCrunch"
And unrelated to the US ban, TikTok suspended the gamification aspect of TikTok Lite, a smaller data-saving and more targeted version of TikTok. Though the EU is still investigating TikTok Lite's potential addictive nature.
More Stories
"Garry’s Mod faces deluge of Nintendo-related DMCA takedown notices"
"Garry’s Mod is taking down 20 years’ worth of “Nintendo Stuff” | Ars Technica"
Facepunch Studios is removing 20 years’ worth of Nintendo-themed workshop items for its game Garry's Mod in response to a takedown notice from Nintendo. The company asked models in its community to help by deleting their Nintendo-themed uploads and not re-uploading them. Some thought the takedowns were fake, but Facepunch confirmed them with Nintendo.
"Apple Releases Open Source AI Models That Run On-Device - MacRumors"
Apple release 8 open-source Large Language Models designed to run on device. These are pre-trained in four cases and instruction-tuned in four others. That means they don't try to do everything well but are focused on specific kinds of tasks to do them better. Apple also claims it has some tweaks that make them much more efficient than many on device models. The drumbeat of Apple AI research and model releases continues as we approach its big announcement at WWDC in June.
"Google Meet 'Switch here' lets you transfer calls between devices"
"Google Meet opens client-side encrypted calls to non Google users"
Remember when tech news was mostly new products and features? It's nice to note then, that Google Meet added a Switch Here button that lets you transfer an ongoing video call from one device to another without hanging up. So, you could start a meeting on your phone then when you get to your desk, click Switch Here not he preview page for the meeting on your PC and seamlessly transfer over. You can also choose "Join Here Too" if you want to keep the connection on both devices. This is supported on Android, iOS and the Web and rolling out to all Google Workspace and personal accounts over the next few weeks. And Google Meet will now let people joining call through a link without a Google account, use client-side encryption. Admins will have to update configurations to enable the feature.
"5 things to know about the return of net neutrality rules | The Hill"
Dearest Pat, By the time you read this, the US FCC will likely have voted 3-2 to change the classification of internet service providers from Information Services back to Common Carriers as they have done before. This move is meant to assure net neutrality, but in reality, may just extend this war. I hear rumblings that telcos will take this change to the Supreme Court this time, but with the election coming in November, the fog of war occludes any surety of such maneuvers. Out here in the wasteland of the internet itself it's hard to see how these content struggles for power affect us in any way. I must go now and engage the memes. We've almost vanquished Rizz. I miss you.
For Context
"Huawei Leads Chinese Effort to Compete With Nvidia’s AI Chips — The Information"
"Xiaomi Says SU7 EV Orders Reach 75,723 Since March Launch - Bloomberg"
"China's Huawei launches new brand for intelligent driving | Reuters"
Huawei continues its resurgence. AS Xiaomi is showing that TVs are in high demand in China, Huawei offers plans to provide software for autonomous cars. The Information has sources who describe Huawei's progress in making chips to rival Nvidia's AI GPUs.
"The Army Has Officially Deployed Laser Weapons Overseas to Combat Enemy Drones | Military.com"
The US Army has deployed 20-kilowatt Palletized High Energy Laser, or P-HEL devices to target enemy drones. The intense beam is targeted on the drone to burn though carbon fiber and disrupt functions. The Department of Defense only says they are deployed "abroad" but I think we all know it's probably somewhere in the Middle East.
"TSMC aims to produce ultra-advanced 1.6-nm chips by 2026 - Nikkei Asia"
Just to keep you up to date on who is making chips on the process with the smallest numbers of nanometers. It's TSMC. TSMC is.
"Google might have an official stylus and keyboard for the Pixel Tablet soon"
I note this only because MysteryLupin on X has a pretty good track record building up of Samsung and Android info.
Interesting Reads
"Microsoft needs to win back trust - The Verge"
"Jeff Bezos: 'I believe in wandering' to boost productivity"
"The world’s biggest 3D printer can a make a house in under 80 hours"