Mediagazer: ByteDance's TikTok and CapCut suspend service in the US, telling users “Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok” (NBC News)

3:11 AM ET, January 19, 2025

Top News:

Trump says he will “most likely” give TikTok a 90-day reprieve after he takes office on Monday “because it's appropriate” — Trump spoke to NBC News' Kristen Welker in an exclusive phone interview Saturday, discussing his plans on what to do about the popular social media app.

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NBC News:

ByteDance's TikTok and CapCut suspend service in the US, telling users “Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok” — Users reported being unable to access TikTok Saturday after a pop-up message from the company came up on their screens saying “a law banning TikTok has been enacted.”

Nitish Pahwa / Slate:

The messy TikTok saga in the US over the past five years has shown that lawmakers are as spineless and skittish as everyone suspects them to be — Well, that escalated slowly over the course of four years. — It is 2020. The United States government threatens to forbid access …

Discussion: Scientific American, Digital Music News and New Republic, more at Techmeme »

Kevin Roose / New York Times:

As the TikTok eulogies pour in from some creators, very few Americans seem concerned that one of the nation's most popular social media apps will disappear — So this may be the way TikTok ends: not with a bang, but with a whimper. — Over the past few weeks, as the Jan. 19 deadline loomed …

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Politico:

Congressional leaders seem flummoxed by the growing popularity of RedNote and Lemon8, an unintended consequence of the TikTok ban — The Chinese apps RedNote and Lemon8 have exploded in popularity as TikTok faces an imminent ban and the Supreme Court upheld the law forcing its sale.

Discussion: @bruces.mastodon.social …, TechCrunch, @naomishambles.bsky.social, WPRI-TV, Associated Press, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Deseret News, CNET and Tech Times, more at Techmeme »

Jonathan Vanian / CNBC:

TikTok is not available for download in the App Store and Play Store in the US, as the app halts service in the country to comply with the divest-or-ban law — Apple and Google removed TikTok from their app stores Saturday night, complying with a law requiring China's ByteDance to divest …

Discussion: 9to5Google and Associated Press, more at Techmeme »

Ana Faguy / BBC:

The White House says TikTok's threat to shut down is a “stunt” as there is “no reason for TikTok or other companies to take actions” before Trump takes office — The White House has said a warning by TikTok it will shut down in the US on Sunday unless tech firms …

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Greg Stohr / Bloomberg:
SCOTUS upholds the TikTok divest-or-ban law, says free speech rights must yield to concerns that Chinese control of the app creates a national-security risk

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The Hollywood Reporter:
A look at efforts by Meta, YouTube, Snap, X, and Substack to attract TikTok's 170M US creators and users; Substack is offering a $25K “TikTok Liberation Prize”

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Michael Hirsh / Politico:

Q&A with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner about his new book Dealings with Dictators, democracies forming an alliance against autocracies, Trump, and more — In a new book, Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner urges the U.S. and Europe to join together in a “Freedom Trade Alliance” …

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Deadline:

Nexstar has reached a carriage deal with Altice, restoring NewsNation and 63 of Nexstar's local stations to Altice's US customers in 42 markets — After multiple stations went dark last week, Nexstar has reached a carriage agreement with Altice USA. — The partnership agreement …

Discussion: TVNewsCheck, Business Wire, Awful Announcing, Cord Cutters News, The Desk and The Wrap

Matthew Keys / The Desk:

Source: Allen Media Group is laying off nearly all of its local TV meteorologists and will produce regionalized weather reports for local stations from Atlanta — The broadcaster will produce regional weather reports from Atlanta, spearheaded by The Weather Channel.

Discussion: NewscastStudio, Tupelo Daily Journal, 1819 News, Cord Cutters News, Tribune-Star and r/Broadcasting

Wall Street Journal:

Sources: Paramount execs held internal talks about settling a Trump lawsuit over a CBS interview with Kamala Harris, to avoid Paramount/Skydance merger hurdles — Paramount, owner of CBS, its namesake studio and several cable channels, has a major piece of business in front of the new administration …

Wes Davis / The Verge:

Instagram now lets users upload Reels that are up to 3 minutes long, doubling the 90-second limit, as TikTok is set to go dark on Sunday — Instagram will now let you upload Reels that are up to 3 minutes long, doubling the 90-second limit the platform had in place before, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri announced today.

Discussion: MacRumors, more at Techmeme »

Isaac Schorr / Mediaite:

Court documents show CNN's revenue dropped about $400M, or 18%, from 2021 to 2023; net income was $600M in 2021, $300M in 2022, and $400M in 2023 — Shortly after a Florida jury found that CNN had defamed Navy veteran Zachary Young and awarded Young $5 million in damages on Friday …

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Winston Cho / The Hollywood Reporter:
A Florida jury finds that CNN defamed a US Navy veteran in a 2021 report portraying him as illegally exploiting Afghans, awards the veteran $5M