TikTok launched a marketing program on Thursday to attract more advertisers with tools to measure the success of ad campaigns that run on its popular short video app.

The program will allow brands and marketers to run ad campaigns on its app, that at present has about 20 certified partners including digital marketing platform MakeMeReach and data analytics company Kantar, TikTok said in a blog. 

TikTok’s advertising business is still nascent, but the company owned by China’s ByteDance has become a popular place for brands that aim to reach the app’s young audience, who flock to it for lip-syncing, dancing and comedy sketch videos.

ByteDance has been ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump to divest TikTok’s operations in the country amid security concerns over the personal data it handles.

Microsoft Corp and Oracle Corp are among the suitors for the assets. However, China’s new rules around tech exports mean the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations could need Beijing’s approval.

source:Reuters

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Kevin Mayer has quit as CEO of TikTok as the Chinese-owned video sharing app faces enormous backlash from President Donald Trump.

"In recent weeks, as the political environment has sharply changed, I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for," Mayer said in a memo to employees that was obtained by CNN Business. "Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company."

"We appreciate that the political dynamics of the last few months have significantly changed what the scope of Kevin's role would be going forward, and fully respect his decision," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement.

TikTok hired Mayer, a former top Disney executive, less than four months ago. The move appeared to be designed to bolster the app's American credentials and improve its standing with US regulators.

Since then, though, it has come under fire from the US government, and Trump has threatened to ban the app.

source:cnn

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Amazon.com Inc on Thursday launched its first fitness band and app, Halo, as the e-commerce giant looks to take on Apple, Fitbit and Samsung in an increasingly crowded fitness tracker market.

The Halo band, which does not feature a display screen unlike most of its rivals, is priced at $99.99, while the app membership costs $3.99 per month, Amazon said.

The scope of growth in the fitness band market has prompted tech giants such as Apple Inc and Samsung to introduce many sophisticated features for health tracking, including electrocardiogram and blood pressure sensor.

In comparison, Amazon has featured a relatively new technology in the market called tone analysis, which reviews users’ tone during conversations. When enabled, a microphone on the band listens to detect emotions such as happiness, confusion or affection in the speaker’s tone.

It remains to be seen if consumers would embrace this feature or would it spark privacy concerns. Amazon said the technology was designed in a way that protects privacy.

The company said the water-resistant band, with a battery life of up to 7 days, also contains an accelerometer, a temperature sensor, a heart rate monitor and can measure body fat percentage.

Alphabet Inc-owned Google is also making strides into the fitness market. Google in November said it would buy Fitbit Inc for $2.1 billion, a deal that is currently under regulatory scrutiny.

The market is also crowded by cheaper offerings from China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and Xiaomi Corp.

source:reuters

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Plans for a TikTok sale may have a new obstacle, with China implementing new rules on AI technology exports, The New York Times reported. The new export control rules, which focus on technology the Chinese government considers sensitive, could mean that TikTok’s parent company, Beijing-based ByteDance, might need a license before it can sell TikTok to an American company.

The updated regulations prohibit exporting technology including text analysis, voice recognition, and content suggestions without a license from the Chinese government. According to The Wall Street Journal, a Chinese government official told state-run Xinhua News Agency that ByteDance should “seriously and cautiously” consider halting talks for a sale of TikTok.

Microsoft has been the front runner in talks to acquire TikTok which will apparently involve Walmart, and reports suggesting everyone from Twitter to Netflix to Oracle also were in separate talks with TikTok. Amid all the chaos, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned August 27th, less than six months into the job.

President Trump signed an executive order August 6th blocking all transactions with ByteDance, and has demanded that an American company purchase TikTok’s US business. The order was intended to take effect within 45 days. Then on August 14th, the president signed an order giving ByteDance 90 days to sell or spin off TikTok in the US, the culmination of an investigation of the company by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS), which oversees foreign acquisitions of US companies for any potential security risks.

It wasn’t clear Saturday whether the Chinese government would seek to block a TikTok sale entirely.

The wildly popular video-sharing platform hit 2 billion downloads globally in April, with 315 million downloads in the first quarter of the year alone.

A TikTok spokesperson declined to comment Saturday.

source: TheVerge

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U.S. wireless carrier Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) may invest more than $4 billion for a stake in India’s Vodafone Idea Ltd (VODA.NS), the Mint newspaper reported on Thursday, sending shares in the struggling Indian telecom firm up 10%.

Vodafone Idea’s stake-sale talks had been paused pending the outcome of a court hearing in India, which created uncertainty and could have threatened Vodafone Idea’s survival, Mint reported, citing two unnamed people aware of the negotiations.

But Amazon and Verizon are set to resume discussions following a Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday which gave mobile carriers 10 years to settle government dues.

Vodafone Idea did not immediately respond to Reuter's request for comment. Amazon and Verizon did not return emails seeking comment outside regular U.S. business hours.

Heavily indebted Vodafone Idea - a joint venture between Britain’s Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) and India’s Idea Cellular - had previously said its ability to continue as a going concern rested on a positive outcome of the hearing.

It has paid the Indian government 78.5 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) in telecoms dues, according to regulatory filings, but still owes roughly 500 billion rupees ($6.8 billion) more.

Shares in Vodafone Idea, which ended 13% lower after Tuesday's court ruling, were up 8% at 10.70 rupees on the NSE index. NSEI by 0405 GMT.

Source: Reuters

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