Politics

Politics


TikTok CEO to tell Congress app is safe, urge against ban

WASHINGTON (AP) — TikTok’s CEO plans to tell Congress that the video-sharing app is committed to user safety, data protection and security, and keeping the platform free from Chinese government influence. Shou Zi Chew is due to answer questions Thursday from U.S. lawmakers concerned about the social media platform’s effects on its young user base […]

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TikTok sends influencers to Washington as its troubles grow

WASHINGTON (AP) — TikTok is ramping up a public relations campaign to fend off the possibility of a nationwide ban by the Biden administration, and it’s bringing some unconventional advocates to help: online influencers. Dozens of TikTok creators — some with millions of followers on the video-sharing app — came to Capitol Hill on Wednesday […]

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Alberta information commissioner to investigate Kearl tailings leak notifications

EDMONTON — Alberta’s information commissioner has started an investigation into how the province’s energy regulator notified the public about tailings pond releases at Imperial Oil’s Kearl mine. “Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod has launched an investigation into the Alberta Energy Regulator concerning AER’s consideration of the public interest override,” said a news release Wednesday […]

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Dutch gov’t staff discouraged from apps such as TikTok

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands is moving to stop central government employees having apps including popular video sharing service TikTok installed on their work phones, amid concerns over data security. Countries including the United States and Britain, as well as the European Union ‘s executive branch, have banned the use of TikTok on […]

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TikTok updates content rulebook as pressure from West builds

LONDON (AP) — TikTok on Tuesday rolled out updated rules and standards for content and users as it faces increasing pressure from Western authorities over concerns that material on the popular Chinese-owned video-sharing app could be used to push false information. The company released a reorganized set of community guidelines that include eight principles to […]

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TikTok updates rules; CEO on charm offensive for US hearing

LONDON (AP) — TikTok went on a counteroffensive Tuesday amid increasing Western pressure over cybersecurity and misinformation concerns, rolling out updated rules and standards for content as its CEO warned against a possible U.S. ban on the Chinese-owned video sharing app. CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to appear Thursday before U.S. congressional lawmakers, who […]

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Arkansas restricts school bathroom use by transgender people

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday signed a law prohibiting transgender people at public schools from using the restroom that matches their gender identity, the first of several states expected to enact such bans this year amid a flood of bills nationwide targeting the trans community. The bill signed […]

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Saskatchewan First Nation comes to B.C. to talk about taking over child welfare

VANCOUVER — Solomon Reece spent a decade in Vancouver before being elected as a councillor to the Key First Nation in Saskatchewan last year. While he remained connected to his First Nation, Reece was raised on a Gulf Island off the West Coast and said going from B.C. to his new position took some adjustment. […]

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Parliamentary committee summons Mark Zuckerberg over Meta’s threat to block news

OTTAWA — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is being summoned by a parliamentary committee for the third time in four years — this time over the tech company’s threat to block news from Canadians on its social-media platforms. The decision comes a week after the company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, announced it would block news […]

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West spotlights North Korea rights abuses; China opposes

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States, its Western allies and experts shone a spotlight on the dire human rights situation and increasing repression in North Korea at a U.N. meeting Friday that China and Russia denounced as a politicized move likely to further escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula. China blocked the U.S. from […]

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New Arizona hotline sees few calls about race based lessons

PHOENIX (AP) — Only a handful of complaints out of hundreds of calls to a new state hotline for reporting race-based lessons have warranted investigation, Arizona’s top education official said Friday. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne told radio station KTAR News that the Arizona Department of Education found half a dozen complaints to […]

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Colorado proposal would cut public records costs for media

DENVER (AP) — As Colorado’s fall neared in 2021, reporter Jesse Paul wanted to peek behind the curtain of state prisons, submitting a request for a swath of documents regarding inmate deaths, injuries and staff violations — public records made available to ensure government transparency. But then the bill arrived, and Paul, a reporter at […]

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