Depending on whom you ask, TikTok is either a fun and engaging social media app or a tool of the Chinese Communist Party posing serious threats to national security. A growing list of lawmakers think it’s the latter. Indiana filed two lawsuits against TikTok this week, alleging the social media company is deceiving consumers about…

The latest on Brittney Griner’s release from Russian prison; more TikTok bans surface and crazy cats of Qatar take center stage. These stories and more highlight the midday rundown for Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Brittney Griner free after U.S. – Russia prisoner swap “She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home after…

Trends, topics and too many animals to count, many people are either on or aware of TikTok. The short-form video app has surpassed Instagram in popularity and is now seen by the FBI as a national security threat. “I would say we do have national security concerns, at least from the FBI’s end, about TikTok.…

The House votes to avoid a rail strike; an Oath Keeper is found guilty of sedition; state employees are banned from TikTok; and the Rubik’s Cube turns 50. These stories and more highlight the morning rundown for Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022. House votes today to avoid rail strike House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, looking at a…

Excerpted from Peter’s Nov. 29 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter: By Michael N. Nayebi-Oskoui I think an update will be helpful as Iran’s current spate of protests continue into their third month. I would like to state at the beginning of this update that as a personal matter, I stand with all people — especially the…

Axios is reporting an increase in Adderall prescriptions in the United States. 41.4 million prescriptions were dispensed in 2021, continuing a year-by-year increase that has been ongoing since at least 2017. Part of the reason for the Adderall prescription increase is because getting a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) got significantly easier during the…

TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance is using H-1B guest worker visas to get some of its employees into the United States. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has expressed concerns about who those employees are and whether they could help the Chinese Communist Party access sensitive user information. “This threatens the safety and security of American citizens,…

According to an update to TikTok’s privacy policy published earlier this week, data for users in the European Union, United Kingdom and Switzerland can be accessed by staff in China, among other countries. In Wednesday’s update, the social media platform said staff access is given “based on a demonstrated need to do their job,” and…

According to a study published in the journal PLOS One earlier this week, social media platform TikTok perpetuates a toxic diet culture among teens and young adults. The study looked at “1,000 TikTok videos from 10 popular nutrition, food, and weight-related hashtags each with over 1 billion views.” Key themes found in these videos included: Glorification…

According to Buffalo, New York Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia, a car crash that killed four teens Monday morning may have been linked to a TikTok challenge. The so-called Kia challenge, first posted over the summer, shows how to hot-wire Kia and Hyundai cars with a USB cord and a screwdriver. Many police departments around the…