Did TikTok Breach Online Content Rules? New EU Investigation Set To Grill Social Media Giant

The EU is known for its stringent regulations and for making sure social media giants stay in check. And the latest target in this regard seems to be ByteDance’s popular app TikTok.

New reports have alleged how evidence has been found regarding TikTok breaching online content regulations. The latter were designed to ensure children remain protected at all times and that advertising stays transparent as confirmed by one official familiar with the matter on Monday.

He says that this might put the social media app instead of heavy fines that serve as punishments.

As confirmed by the industry’s chief, he mentioned how a decision was taken after analysis of a short video that assessed the risks involved in such reports. It featured plenty of replies for data as confirmed by one story by Reuters.

As revealed on X, the chief for industries in the EU, Thierry Breton mentioned how he was analyzing short videos, and only then did he choose to move ahead with this investigation.

He says that the board has great obligations to make sure minors remain safe at all times when they are online. But with TikTok carrying on with this behavior, it’s getting harder to do so and that is why it’s going to be under more scrutiny.

The goal is to protect minors and ensure they have limited screen time that their age is verified and that the app has the right privacy settings as default in place. As confirmed by the DSA, it also mentioned how it’s going to apply to a wide array of online apps so that it could better tackle unlawful content and any risks to the general public along the way.

The head of TikTok says the app that hails from parent firm ByteDance might face fines that go up to 6% of the overall global turnover. And that’s if the company is termed guilty of breaking DSA regulations.

The leading app has rolled out a response on this front and how it’s likely to continue working with professionals in the industry. And that the leading tech giant of the industry is doing everything in its power to ensure minors remain safe at all times. It looks forward to providing greater explanations on how the work will roll out in detail when you look at the EC.

TikTok then boasted about how it has pioneered features so that teens remain safe and those below 13 are well away from the app as they’re too young. It’s an issue that TikTok feels not only it but many other leading platforms are forced to deal with.

The current investigation will ensure the focus of the app’s system including a wide array of algorithm systems that stimulate addictions and give rise to rabbit-hole effects.

TikTok would similarly be probed on whether or not it has the right measures in place to ensure privacy and safety remain for minors. Another point of concern that investigators will be looking at is whether the app has installed the right database for ads to function, whereby researchers can better scrutinize any online risks taking place.

This is the second time that we’ve seen the DSA investigate leading tech giants that have a huge fanbase when it comes to the younger user population. We’ve already seen them put the leading app of Elon Musk, X, formerly Twitter, in the hot seat after finding evidence of similar breaches of the DSA in December of last year.

Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen

Read next: Concerns On The Rise As Generative AI Tools Predicted To Steal Google’s Market Share
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Concerns On The Rise As Generative AI Tools Predicted To Steal Google’s Market Share

Generative AI might be one of the most revolutionary technologies to erupt in recent times. And while it’s useful for some, others aren’t too impressed as it’s bound to serve as serious competition.

A new report from tech analyst firm Gartner says traffic from search engines toward user websites will fall by 25% in the next two years. And it’s generative AI that is to blame.

The reason why it’s being looked upon as a big deal has to do with the simple fact that both PPC and SEO are very valuable. And when it comes to companies working in this domain, search traffic can result in revenue and profit and anything impacting this is a big deal.

It can convert traffic into sales revenue or any other kind of conversion that is significant to a brand.

Moreover, this is why the popularity linked to generative AI has the world talking and raising serious concerns that even Google’s Search Generative Experience could steal traffic allocated to a website. And that also signals a serious rise in costs for those involved in advertising. And if those concerns were already too much, many people feel ChatGPT is grabbing a massive hold of Google’s market share, a shock because it’s been dominating for years.

This kind of prediction has led many of us to imagine how generational AI conversational assistants would much prefer to use classic search engines. And if that’s the case, it would mean huge shifts in strategies allocated for search marketing purposes. This is both organic as well as paid. In the same way, Gartner predicted how search volume is set to fall by a whopping 25%, and search market share would similarly decline against chatbots and virtual agents.

So more and more and more individuals would be turning toward generational AI chat assistants instead of classic search engines. And if that’s the case, it would result in massive shifts when it comes down to strategies linked to search marketing.

But remember, predictions are just like calculated guesses. These are designed to inform the world about what could happen if things go in the direction they are right now.

So many respective firms feel the pressure when the guesses they make turn out to be something that they’re not. After all, rarely do people go back and check. In one recent example, we saw another surprising prediction including how 50% of all users would restrict engagement by leaving out social media by 2025 altogether. But in fact, they did walk it back a little.

As far as predictions for 2028 are concerned, we’re talking about organic search traffic falling by nearly 50% or even greater. The news comes as consumers are all set to embrace change in the world of AI-based search. This was based on findings arising from surveys that showed how 79% of responses arose from those using AI-based search in the upcoming year. Similarly, 70% of all users had some kind of trust in search results based on Generative AI.

For such predictions, the firm is advising brands to make way for disruptions linked to AI-related searches. Plenty of market leaders place heavy reliance on brands and SEO. This is why they need to allocate the right materials and carry out respective tests to diversify.

This is all never guaranteed and it could mean Gartner is actually accurate with its predictions. But the real truth can only be unveiled in the year 2026 so until then, let’s wait and watch.

Image: Digital Information World - AIgen

Read next: Analysis of Android Phone Usage Highlights Data Sent to Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Surprising Levels to TikTok
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Analysis of Android Phone Usage Highlights Data Sent to Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Surprising Levels to TikTok

Ernestas Naprys tried an experiment with a brand-new Android phone. He installed the top 100 free apps from the Google Play Store, gave them permission to do what they asked, and left the phone alone for a day. Naprys used a special internet service to see where the phone sent information.

The apps were chosen in Lithuania, Europe. The experiment showed the phone sent a lot of information to different places without being used. The phone sent data 6296 times in three days. Some of this data went to servers in Russia 39 times and China 15 times. This was surprising because the phone didn't have any apps from those countries that you might expect to send data there.

The phone sent a lot of information to Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. Almost half of all data went to them. TikTok sent even more data than those three, which was unexpected.

Even when the person wasn't using the phone, it still used a lot of data. In one day, it used 553MB, but only 20MB were sent out from the phone. Apps like TikTok and Temu used a lot of data too.

The phone eventually started closing some apps on its own because they were slowing it down. Despite this, TikTok still managed to use a lot of data in the background.

The researcher from Cybernews says it's normal for apps to talk to servers, but it can be a privacy risk. Especially if the data goes to countries where the government might look at it without permission. Some apps ask for too much access to your phone, and once they have it, they can connect to any server they want.

The experiment shows that your phone can send data all around the world, even when you're not using it. This could be a privacy concern, especially for certain people like journalists or activists.

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Read next: Financial Stressors Differ by Generation, Study Highlights Concerns Over Inflation and Retirement
by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

Financial Stressors Differ by Generation, Study Highlights Concerns Over Inflation and Retirement

Many Americans think that to reach financial happiness, it is important that they have 1.2 million dollars. 71% of Americans believe that having more money is equivalent to having fewer problems. This makes us wonder are Americans content with the money they make? Even though many Americans say that their happiness is linked to money, only 17% believe that one must have some specific amount of money to find happiness.

70% say that paying their bills on time is the key to finding their financial happiness while 65% say that they can reach their financial happiness goal by avoiding debt. It is really hard to manage bills and avoid debts nowadays and people find it difficult to budget their finances. That's the reason that 42% of Americans believe that an extra $25000 can only help them for 6 months, no more than that.

Americans are trying to find happiness in other things and not in how they manage their finances, but more than half of Gen-Z and Gen-X are disappointed with how their finances are turning out. Many financial stressors don't let people be content with their finances. The biggest stressor, 73% of Americans agree, is inflation. However, thoughts are different in every generation. The older generation thinks that the things that are blocking their financial happiness are their worries about politics and their retirement. Millennials and Gen-Z are more worried about being laid off from jobs and increases in property prices.

The younger generation says that they can be safe from financial stress if they get a proper financial education (80%). 65% say that they didn't receive good financial advice and that's why they couldn't reach their financial goals. 56% are still waiting for a piece of good financial advice that will help them in their life. Financial planning is three times better than having no financial planning, and people with more financial planning tend to be more content with their finances.

Almost all people want financial happiness and most of them can do anything for it. That's why a quarter of the Americans in the survey said that they are ready to give up social media for their financial happiness while 25% can even give up their love for it. Financial happiness helps individuals become more goal-orientated. It makes life worthwhile and that's why every individual out there wants to achieve financial happiness.

H/T: Empower / VC

Read next: These White Collar Jobs Will Be the Most Affected by AI
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

These White Collar Jobs Will Be the Most Affected by AI

Tech disruptions have been making jobs obsolete for quite some time now, but the current AI revolution is actually quite different with all things having been considered and taken into account. For one thing, it will create a situation wherein white collar jobs will end up becoming redundant rather than blue collar ones. According to a report released by the Society for Human Resource Management, three sectors in particular will be heavily affected by AI in the future namely finance, legal and tech.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that these changes will affect a number of jobs in these niches. Loan and mortgage brokers might see their numbers dwindle, as would accountants, and legal aids working in offices might decrease as well. What's more is that tech jobs that involve data processing and hosting services as well as computer programming were described as being at risk of becoming obsolete.

It bears mentioning that blue collar workers on factory floors will barely be affected by the AI revolution, making this the first time that the seismic shifts will impact white collar workers far more than their blue collar counterparts. In spite of the fact that this is the case, there is a chance that the reduction in jobs may not have a long term negative impact on employment.

Having AI perform certain jobs that used to only be done by humans would be a great way to reduce payroll expenses. Such a change might be beneficial because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up setting money aside for new paid roles down the line. However, the short term outlook for a number of white collar professions is not quite as bright as some would have hoped, so it will be interesting to see if the predictions become true. We might be looking at a white collar work force that will be greatly diminished especially if you look at it with a relatively short time frame in mind.

Read next: Zuckerberg Advocates Founder Involvement in Decision-Making, Acknowledges Need for Talented Teams Despite Reluctance to Delegate
by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World

Celebrity Deepfakes are Getting Widespread Across Social Media Sites and Users Need to Beware of Them

Bitdefender, a cyber security company, shares a report that shows that there are many advertisements on Facebook and Instagram that use celebrities' deepfakes to sell different products on these sites. The voices of many celebrities are played over their clips to offer many product giveaways and convince them for investments. Bitdefender analyzed many videos and found that they targeted more than one million users in the US and Europe and these posts reached 100,000 people on average on different social media sites. Another thing that these scammers did was create fake news websites of popular news sites like the New York Times and link the deep fake posts to those news websites.

Bitdefender’s Security Analyst, Slime Bizga, said that the company hasn’t been able to identify what are the number of scams this has caused but there is a rise seen in them from the past few months. This report was published after Meta has announced that it is going to label AI generated content on its social media sites while working with technical experts to identify AI content. The FCC has also said that it is thinking about banning AI generated voice overs on robocalls after an incident where the AI generated voice of Joe Biden could be heard discouraging New Hampshire voters from going to polling stations.

Bizga said that as elections are near, these kinds of deep fakes of politicians can be seen but her team hasn’t looked into them but it is highly likely that the deepfakes of politicians are as widely being used as celebrities’. Bizga also added that deep fakes of celebrities on social media sites can easily be identified because the voices aren’t edited perfectly. They are not synced, there is something wrong with movements and their quality of voices isn’t great. The deepfake of a youtuber, Mr. Beast, the only one that users weren’t able to identify easily. In future, the deep fakes are going to get more advanced. So, users need to be alert and keep an eye on every content to prevent themselves from being scammed.

Photo: DIW-AIgen

Read next: Research Finds that Many of the Adults in the UK Are Not Aware that AI Generated CSAM is Illegal
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Zuckerberg Advocates Founder Involvement in Decision-Making, Acknowledges Need for Talented Teams Despite Reluctance to Delegate

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, shared insights into his unconventional leadership style during a recent episode of the Morning Brew Daily podcast. He expressed a reluctance towards delegating responsibilities, a principle that has sparked controversy within the business and leadership community.

Zuckerberg emphasized the importance, in his view, for founders to immerse themselves in decision-making processes and various aspects of their company's operations. He acknowledged the necessity of recognizing personal limitations to avoid hindering progress. Despite his inclination towards hands-on involvement, Zuckerberg acknowledged the indispensability of a talented team to handle essential tasks beyond his capacity.

Photo: Digital Information World - AIgen

Reflecting on his evolving confidence over time, Zuckerberg asserted his commitment to delving deeply into various matters and steering them towards his envisioned direction. He acknowledged the inevitability of setbacks but stressed the importance of continuous learning and improvement over time.

The Meta CEO's management approach has faced scrutiny amid significant layoffs affecting thousands of employees. Zuckerberg attributed some of these actions to timing misjudgments regarding investments, particularly in metaverse technology, and the need to streamline operations following excessive hiring during the pandemic-driven tech and e-commerce surge.

In an effort to enhance efficiency, Zuckerberg declared a "year of efficiency" and initiated measures to reduce bureaucratic layers within Meta's organizational structure. He expressed a desire to avoid an overly complex management hierarchy, emphasizing a focus on empowering individuals directly involved in executing tasks rather than creating layers of managerial oversight.

Read next: Research Finds that Many of the Adults in the UK Are Not Aware that AI Generated CSAM is Illegal
by Asim BN via Digital Information World