In a bold move, Nepal has slammed the brakes on China’s TikTok, citing concerns that the platform’s content threatens social harmony. This decision swiftly follows Nepal’s new rule demanding social media giants establish a local presence.
Communications and Information Technology Minister Rekha Sharma pulled no punches, asserting that.
“TikTok is playing a role in spreading malicious content. The ban is set to take immediate effect, with a clear directive to telecom authorities to enforce the decision immediately.”
Freedom of Expression in Question
However, only some people are singing the same tune.
Gagan Thapa, part of the coalition government, is raising eyebrows. Thapa challenges the ban, branding it an attempt to stifle freedom of expression. He advocates for a more measured approach—regulation over prohibition.
The world has been watching TikTok amid persistent worries that user data might be handed over to the Chinese government. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, vehemently denies these allegations.
Do We Have Evidence For Claims?
TikTok may not be at the top of the social media hierarchy, but its meteoric rise among the youth is undeniable.
In Nepal, the platform has been associated with over 1,600 cybercrime cases in the last four years, according to local media reports.
About 80% of social media users in Nepal between 16 and 24 years old find their digital haven on TikTok.
This move aligns Nepal with other nations like India, Montana in the United States, and even the UK Parliament, which have previously taken measures against TikTok.
The concerns over cybercrime have prompted temporary bans in Pakistan and service suspensions in Indonesia.
Teams and Xbox Back on Track Across UK and Europe
Imagine gearing up for a gaming weekend, only to find that Microsoft Teams and Xbox Live are playing hard to get.
Well, over 1,500 folks in the UK faced just that, grappling with glitches that disrupted their virtual communication on Teams and gaming escapades on Xbox Live, as reported on Downdetector.
Call of Duty Fans Left Hanging: Payment Woes for Modern Warfare 3
Adding salt to the wound, the timing couldn’t have been worse. The latest Call of Duty game dropped on Friday, but some eager players found themselves in a digital payment pickle.
Microsoft reassures that the payment hiccups have been untangled, relieving those wanting to dive into the action of Modern Warfare 3.
Microsoft pointed fingers at an “artificial increase in synthetic network traffic” for the disruption. They made configuration changes to get the digital highways flowing smoothly again. Earlier, Microsoft had identified some “anomalies” in their network infrastructure.
This isn’t Microsoft’s first service outage; a déjà vu moment from January left tens of thousands scratching their heads.
Meta Takes a Stand: Letting You in on Ad Secrets
Big news from Meta – Starting in January, political ads on your feed will spill the beans if they’ve been jazzed up with AI or digital tweaks.
Spilling the Tea: What’s Changing in Your Feed
Starting in January, political ads must declare any form of digital alteration through human or AI intervention.
This encompasses changes to spoken content in videos, manipulations of images or footage from actual events, and creating realistic-looking individuals who don’t exist.
Users will receive notifications when ads have been flagged for digital alterations.
Playing Fair: Meta’s Warning Shot to Advertisers
Here’s the lowdown: Meta’s teaming up with human and AI fact-checkers to keep things in check. Advertisements playing fast and loose with the new rules, especially those about politics, elections, or significant social topics, could face the boot.
Threads is following the same playbook as Instagram. They want everyone on the same page when it comes to ad transparency.
Found No Way To Being Protected
There are only two types of companies in the world. One is those who know they have been hacked, and the other who don’t know they are breached somehow.
Same is the case with people, some know their privacy is exploited, and some live in other spaces.
Tech giants work for better security posture and data management, but we get fooled by false claims. Deepfakes were unrecognized by Meta! This sounds vague today. TikTok still has privacy issues, and XBox has uncontrolled traffic!
When established companies claim these events, we are left with no other options except to hold our privacy in our control through vigilance.
What’s your opinion?
Marrium Akhtar
November 14, 2023
6 months ago
