TikTok bill passes House in bipartisan vote, moving one step closer to possible ban

TikTok bill passes House in bipartisan vote, moving one step closer to possible ban

Washington — The House on Wednesday passed legislation that could ban TikTok in the U.S. if its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance doesn’t sell its stake in the massively popular social media platform. The vote was 352 in favor and 65 opposed, underscoring its broad bipartisan support, with 197 Republicans and 155 Democrats voting to approve it. … Read more

Alibaba tests generative AI tools for Taobao and Tmall merchants as new tech arms race heats up China’s e-commerce sector

Alibaba tests generative AI tools for Taobao and Tmall merchants as new tech arms race heats up China’s e-commerce sector

The generative AI tools provided by Huiwa, operated by Alibaba subsidiary Hangzhou Lianfan Information Technology, enable merchants to create both text and graphics content. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. A merchant, for example, can input a brief description of a product, which prompts the tool to create customised content for marketing and promotion. … Read more

EU to target six tech companies in next phase of digital crackdown

EU to target six tech companies in next phase of digital crackdown

The European Union on Wednesday targeted Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and TikTok parent ByteDance under new digital rules aimed at reining in the market power of online companies. The six companies were classed as online “gatekeepers” that must face the highest level of scrutiny under the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Markets … Read more