Say what you will about its origins or its content, but there's an inescapable fact about TikTok: it has become a social media success of galactic proportions.

In just three short years, it's amassed 800 million worldwide users, has 53.5 million weekly average users in the U.S. — Read the rest

A Utah couple orders so much pizza that they request delivery from Derlin Newey by name. After posting clips of the friendly 89-year-old on TikTok, their followers raised a $12,000 tip for the affable driver.

While mainstream media is presenting this as a feel-good story (which it is), it might also be worth taking a step back and asking why an 89-year-old has to supplement his retirement benefits by delivering pizzas. — Read the rest

TikTok's fate in the U.S. Apple and Google app stores will be decided by Sunday, we are told.

A U.S. judge is expected to decide by Sunday whether Trump's ban on TikTok will be upheld, after a last-minute filing by the Trump-controlled Department of Justice supporting the move. — Read the rest

What the world really needs right now is a calendar of Sexy Firefighters debunking conspiracy theories.

Anyway, you can follow this fireman, Michael Clark, on Instagram. — Read the rest

The arranged deal in which Donald Trump's political ally and campaign donor Larry Ellison and his company Oracle become the sole U.S. technology provider to Tiktok, from China's ByteDance, is reportedly getting Trump's approval today.

The Oracle-Tiktok deal will be announced by the White House on Tuesday afternoon, CNBC reported on Tuesday morning, citing sources. — Read the rest

Beijing is strongly against a Trump-forced sale of TikTok's U.S. operations by Chinese owner ByteDance, and the government of China would rather that TikTok shut down all operations in United States, Reuters reports on Friday.

China has previously characterized the forced sale to a U.S. — Read the rest

TikTok admitted today that it has banned certain phrases from being used by users in regions that include Russia, Bosnia and Jordan, with "gay", "I am gay" and "transgender" named as examples by the BBC. The firm says it will continue to restrict the terms and related hashtags to "comply with local laws" and to prevent their use "to discover pornographic content." — Read the rest

Blake Gray and Bryce Hall, two stars of social video app TikTok, have been charged with misdemeanors after they held two large Hollywood house parties in defiance of local health orders, says the Los Angeles city attorney.

Couldn't happen to two bigger jerks. — Read the rest

TikTok is expected to launch a legal challenge as early as Monday against impeached U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order that prohibits transactions with the popular short video app and its China-based owner, ByteDance, reports Reuters late on Friday.

From Reuters:

Trump issued an executive order on Aug.

The drama channels have been all over the developing war in LA between influencer jagbags and city officials over massive house parties in the middle of a pandemic.

The worst of the worst is Bryce Hall, whose swimming-pool-temp IQ and blatant disregard for humanity have set him apart in a crowded field of young imbeciles. — Read the rest

The Financial Times reports that Larry Ellison's Oracle has entered the race to acquire TikTok. The short video sharing social media app is Chinese-owned, under attack by Donald Trump, and is also being pursued by Microsoft.

A group is reportedly working with investors on behalf of Oracle in an effort to outbid Microsoft after the recent Trump divestment order. — Read the rest

President orders China-based Tiktok owner ByteDance to sell Musical.ly

"The tactic, which experts in mobile-phone security said was concealed through an unusual added layer of encryption, appears to have violated Google policies"

Twitter and Tiktok had preliminary negotiations about a potential merger/acquisition, reported the Wall Street Journal on Saturday.

TikTok, the social media app from China-based Bytedance, plans to sue the Trump administration in a challenge to the president's executive order that bans the service in the United States.

"The Senate on Thursday unanimously passed legislation to ban the use of the social media app TikTok on federal devices, weeks after the House approved a similar measure," reports The Hill:

Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order that bans doing business with ByteDance, the China-based company that owns TikTok. The ban takes effect in 45 days.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today announced a five-part "Clean Network" effort from the Trump administration which Pompeo says is to limit potential national security risks from China.

Multiple news outlets citing multiple sources report TikTok rumor, but Apple denies

China isn't prepared to accept the "theft" of Chinese technology company TikTok, and has the capability to respond to Trump's move to push ByteDance to sell short-video app TikTok's U.S. operations to Microsoft, state-controlled China Daily newspaper said on Tuesday. — Read the rest