TikTok

Social media platform TikTok has implemented a fresh round of layoffs, letting go of at least a dozen employees in Singapore, effective immediately. According to The Straits Times, the job cuts are part of the company’s broader effort to streamline back-end operations globally and align with long-term growth strategies.

ByteDance-owned TikTok is targeting European countries, including Italy, Germany and France, as new destinations to expand its e-commerce base. Subsequently, the company is also looking to expand into Japan and Brazil later this year.

Elon Musk has denied any interest in purchasing TikTok, despite speculation from Chinese officials about him buying its US operations if a ban occurs. President Trump has also suggested that Musk or Oracle's Larry Ellison could acquire the platform through a government-backed deal.

Oracle and a group of investors, such as Microsoft, are vying over TikTok's global operations. If both sides agreed, it would mean that ByteDance would keep a minority of the state in TikTok while the app's algorithm, data collection, and software updates would all be taken over by Oracle.

Perplexity AI revised its TikTok merger proposal, offering the U.S. government a 50% stake in the new company to address security concerns while keeping ByteDance's partial involvement. The deal comes amid pressure from the Trump administration and U.S. law requiring TikTok to sever ties with its Chinese parent or face a ban.

Doubao is a ChatGPT-styled conversational Bot developed by ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok and launched in August last year. The AI chatbot has more than 51 million monthly active users in China, outpacing other Chinese tech giant competitors such as Baidu's Wenxiaoyan (12.5 million users), and Moonshot AI's Kimi (10 million users).

Less than a day after, the app went offline in U.S. App stores, TikTok began restoring its services on Sunday after President Trump said he would revive the app's access in the U.S when he returns to power on Monday. Apparently, the newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump has ordered for a 75 day extension on enforcing a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the US, marking one of his first acts in the office.

Indonesia is considering a law to restrict social media access for children to protect them from online dangers, though concerns about privacy and data security have arisen. Many parents support the measure, but advocates call for a balance between child protection and digital rights.

TikTok will resume operations in the US after the President-elect pledged to restore access, proposing a 50% stake in the platform—despite previously attempting to ban it. The news has sparked widespread celebration on social media.

Mr. Chew will join other prominent tech executives, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos. Some are also speculating that Trump's committee invitation to Mr Zhou could also hint at Trump's commitment to protect TikTok from the possible ban that could come as soon as Jan 19.