Enternainment
Ban on TikTok? US working on a Bill to outlaw the Chinese App
By Dana Malcolm
Staff Writer
#USA, December 14, 2022 – The United States is seeking to ban uber popular social networking app TikTok in a new bipartisan bill. Republican Senator Marco Rubio is at the head of the new bill which would see more than 80 million US users lose access to their platforms.
The app which skyrocketed to popularity in 2018 after merging with Music.ly is owned by Chinese media giant ByteDance.
There have been several accusations laid against TikTok in the past including a recurring theme that it is ‘spying on Americans’. According to Rubio’s press office, the ‘Averting the National Threat of Internet Surveillance, Oppressive Censorship and Influence, and Algorithmic Learning by the Chinese Communist Party Act’ (ANTI-SOCIAL CCP Act) would ‘protect Americans by blocking and prohibiting all transactions from any social media company in, or under the influence of, China, Russia, and several other foreign countries of concern.’ 
Describing the social media app as a ‘threat’, Rubio said, “This isn’t about creative videos — this is about an app that is collecting data on tens of millions of American children and adults every day. We know it’s used to manipulate feeds and influence elections. We know it answers to the People’s Republic of China. There is no more time to waste on meaningless negotiations with a CCP-puppet company. It is time to ban Beijing-controlled TikTok for good.”
Facebook and Twitter have come under similar scrutiny. Facebook accused of facilitating espionage and international interference in US Elections. Twitter is alleged to have employed foreign spies. Most US social media, especially those created and controlled by giant META, are banned in China.
Any ban on TikTok will be a huge boon for META as one of its most popular apps Instagram, a photo based app, has repeatedly tried to rebrand with more TikTok-esque interfaces. It has been unsuccessful, and several updates have been rolled back after widespread complaints.
It is unclear whether the bill will be debated this year or reintroduced early next year. The US House is under Republican control but the Senate is under Democratic control which could determine whether or not the bill is passed.
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
March 9, 2024 – In only its third week after being released on Friday, February 14th, the Bob Marley: One Love biopic is on its way to a huge milestone at the global box office, surpassing the $150 million mark worldwide.
The film is making headlines for its continuous growth in success, being one of the most anticipated films in the world, telling the story of one of, if not the Caribbean’s most famous and most influential musicians during his life and even in death.
According to reports, domestically, One Love generated $82 million and internationally $63 million, totalling a growing $146 million. This past weekend alone, its domestic earnings came up $7 million and nearly 8 million overseas.
Its success is projected to go even further, as it’s about to reach and pass the 150 million dollar mark, especially as it’s about to be launched in a brand new market soon.
Reports say the film has not been shown in any new markets since its release, but is scheduled to debut in several Asian countries this month.
Currently, the United Kingdom is One Love’s largest international market where it managed to bank more than $17 million, followed by France with $12 million and Brazil $4 million. In Jamaica, so far it has earned $600,000.
The film has attracted mixed reviews. For instance, on Rotten Tomatoes, an American review-aggregation website, it’s at 42 percent. However, audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes is at 92 percent as well as a great A CinemaScore from opening day crowds. CinemaScore I’d a market research firm based in Las Vegas.
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