TikTok has a week until US ban - will it happen?
Plus: Has Ryanair gone too far?
TikTok’s temporary reprieve following a planned ban in January is nearly over. The US Government is reportedly still working with a number of (US) bidders to find a solution.
As a small reminder, in mid-January the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” officially went into law, with TikTok originally due to be banned. However, the platform was given until April 4 to spin off to a US partner, or be banned.
As Social Media Today puts it, “the law relates to concerns around how TikTok, and other apps, gather U.S. user data, and could also be used as tools to disseminate pro-China information to U.S. citizens.
“The details on the exact reasoning have been kept secret, and only shared in official security briefings held with U.S. officials.” Although, if we wait long enough, no doubt we’ll find out from a Signal group chat.
Senators are urging President Trump to extend the reprieve further, and to establish an official approach this time rather than just using executive orders every few months.
For its part, TikTok has ramped up ad spend significantly highlighting how the app has been a part of life-saving stories and the success/growth of numerous small businesses and enterprises. Brand ad spend on the platform also remains huge, and its fair to say it’s a cornerstone of the US digital marketing ecosystem.
A new study this week also found that support for the ban is dropping rapidly. With all that in mind, it feels incredibly unlikely that we’ll see TikTok drop from US app stores from April 5 - but obviously this is an evolving situation and one to keep an eye on.
Further Reading
Ryanair drew some heat this week (and, it must be said, a lot of praise) for its “most brutal” roasting of a customer complaint in some time, making fun of a customer’s appearance and implying a hair transplant in Turkey. The customer himself took it in good humour, but there was definite unease among some online communities and the former Ryanair head of social.
X’s Director of Engineering Haofei Wang has abruptly left the company, leaving a lot of questions about the nature of his departure. It’s understood that he formed a key bridge between Elon Musk and the X engineering team.
LinkedIn has pulled together a useful rundown of updates it has made to the Ad Campaign Manager over the last few months.
OpenAI has rolled out image creation on ChatGPT to everyone, including those on free plans.
Bloomberg Businessweek has pulled together a comprehensive overview and analysis of Google’s ongoing struggles and challenges in the face of ChatGPT and competitors. It’s lengthy but well worth a read with your lunch.
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If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll be back next Thursday. See you then! 🫶