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Congressman says TikTok backed out of a meeting to avoid child safety questions

2026-09-03T14:37:57-04:00

TikTok backed out of a congressional committee's "public roundtable" set for this month over concerns it would be asked about child safety practices, the chair of the committee said.

After negotiating "in good faith" to bring TikTok's chief security officer before the House Select Committee on China to answer questions about Chinese government access to Americans' data and the TikTok algorithm, Chair John Moolenaar (R-MI) said in a statement Thursday that the company reversed course. "Now, TikTok is refusing to appear citing its own desire to avoid broader scrutiny of its child safety practices," Moolenaar wrote. TikTok did not immediately …

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If Meta’s going down, it’s taking TikTok and YouTube with it

2026-08-27T10:24:29-04:00

Meta might be on the hook for $17.1 billion and a host of app changes under a new kids safety settlement, but it's already spinning the deal to its advantage.

After years of being the national punching bag for social media harms, Meta has reached a settlement with 47 US states and several districts and territories that gives it a rare opportunity: A chance to flex on its rivals. "We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone," Meta says in an "Open Letter" that is also running as a full-page ad in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post. "These protections will only be truly ef …

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TikTok will pay $400 million to settle DOJ child privacy lawsuit

2026-08-21T18:13:34-04:00

The US Department of Justice announced on Friday that TikTok will pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit filed in 2024 over allegedly violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). In the lawsuit, the DOJ alleged that TikTok collected data from children without notifying parents or obtaining consent and did not delete the accounts when parents requested.

TikTok is set to pay $300 million right away and will pay a further $100 million "upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly," the DOJ says in a press release. The settlement is "one of the largest recoveries ever o …

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TikTok blames ‘moderator error’ on slow response to Perez Hilton livestream

2026-08-06T13:18:22-04:00

TikTok says a "moderator error" delayed the removal of a livestream that appeared to show blogger Perez Hilton harming himself, as reported earlier by Wired. Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok US, tells The Verge that the platform notified law enforcement about the situation and banned Hilton's account for violating its community guidelines.

Hilton, or Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is known for the celebrity gossip blog he started in 2004, where he often posted photos of stars featuring his own often obscene or cruel drawings layered on top.

Though some users claimed Perez's livestream aired for more than 30 minutes, Favazza disputes …

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Disney gives TikTok creators official access to Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar characters

2026-08-05T07:38:49-04:00

Disney is introducing fan-created TikTok content to its Disney Plus app in its latest attempt to break into short-form creator videos. The Walt Disney Company announced today that it's partnering with TikTok to bring "an expansive collection of thoughtfully curated Disney-centric fan-created content" to the Verts video feed it launched on Disney Plus earlier this year, providing creators with access to assets from "hundreds" of movies and TV shows.

The partnership will be piloted in the US "in the coming months," according to Disney, with plans to launch in other markets later. Videos from TikTok creators who opt-in to the program will be h …

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The vertical video takeover is here

2026-07-24T13:29:13-04:00

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on all things vertical video, follow David Pierce. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.

How it started

For a while, every social and media platform had its own identity. YouTube was for clips of TV shows and movies, and the home of so many members of a burgeoning creator community. Instagram was mostly pictures. Netflix was trying to be the on-demand HBO. Facebook was about friends. Twitter was about news. Snapchat was a messaging app.

All these apps did have one important …

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TikTok’s protection of minors should not be opt-in, warns EU

2026-07-24T07:50:10-04:00

TikTok has attracted the ire of the European Union over its protection of children who use the video sharing platform. The European Commission announced preliminary findings today under the Digital Services Act (DSA) that offer specific issues to address.

The Commission suggests that TikTok should adjust the default settings of minors' "public" accounts so the content they post is only visible to TikTok users the teen has chosen to share it with, and that such content shouldn't be recommended to other users in the For You feed. Even accounts set to private can be easily discovered through the "following" lists of other users, and their prof …

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TikTok is testing an AI likeness detection tool

2026-07-17T15:34:30-04:00

TikTok is starting to test an opt-in tool that scans for AI likenesses and lets creators report them to the company, as spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra. The tool is initially being tested with "some" US creators, TikTok US spokesperson Zachary Kizer tells The Verge. YouTube has been working on a similar tool and recently made it available to all adult users.

Creators who are part of TikTok's test and want to use the tool will first have to verify their identity with a company called Jumio. You'll have to do a real-time selfie scan and an ID check, but Kizer says that "TikTok does not retain ID documents, and facial informati …

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YouTube updates Shorts to make it even more like TikTok

2026-06-25T18:09:21-04:00

YouTube is adding even more TikTok-like features to Shorts, including a new "clear screen" mode that removes the icons and text from the video you're watching. In a blog post on Thursday, YouTube says it's also replacing the "thumbs-up" button with a "heart" icon, and is introducing a new option that lets you watch Shorts at 2x speed.

You can now speed up a short by swiping down on your screen. | GIF: Google" data-portal-copyright="GIF: Google">

As noted by YouTube, you can speed up a video by holding down the edge of your screen and lifting your finger when you want it to return to normal speed. You can lock the speed at 2x by pressing the player and swiping down. Another change allows you to mute watching by tapping the video and selecting the "mute …

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Instagram wants to monopolize your attention

2026-06-26T07:28:31-04:00

This week, Instagram launched a series of new features for its smart TV app that are all designed to get people to spend more time on the platform through the biggest screens in their homes. In addition to vertical Reels, Instagram for TV - which is currently available for Amazon Fire TV, Google TV, and Samsung Smart TVs - users can now watch disappearing Stories and horizontal videos with aspect ratios similar to what you typically see on YouTube. And soon, Instagram will make a big push for longform, episodic content and TV-focused "live creator experiences."

This foray into the TV space feels very different from the Meta-owned company's …

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