Hashtag Trends Aug 19 – TikTok is ‘High Risk’. Meta to ban political ads ahead of US elections.US Streaming Overtakes Cable TV Ratings

US lawmakers told the House of Representatives that TikTok is “risky”, Meta has banned political ads ahead of US midterm elections, and streaming will surpass cable TV viewing for the first time.

Welcome to hashtag trending. Friday, August 19th, this is Tom Li, the host.

The House has urged lawmakers to avoid using TikTok due to privacy concerns. The House Chief Executive has issued a “cyber advisory” related to video apps. CAO’s cybersecurity department said the platform “can pose a high risk to users as the app is not transparent in terms of protecting customer data.” The advisory describes some concerns researchers have found about TikTok. These include access to your device’s location, calendar, and photos. The app can also retrieve other data, such as his WiFi network name, MAC address, and personal phone number, Business Insider reports.

sauce: business insider

Meta Platforms has announced that it will ban political ads ahead of the 2022 US midterm elections. The company said it will run a “restricted period” for ads about “social issues, elections or politics” the week before Election Day. This basically means that from November 1st to November 8th, new political ads will be banned. Facebook is making a move similar to what it did during the 2020 US presidential election, following criticism it received when misinformation flooded its platform after the 2016 election. In a statement, Meta believes the week-long ban achieves the right balance between giving candidates a voice and scrutinizing their ads.

sauce: business insider

Last month, the streaming platform led by Netflix surpassed cable networks for the first time to capture the largest share of US TV viewing for the month. According to Neilsen’s data, streaming in American TV households accounted for his 34.8% of total consumption in July, while cable and broadcast each accounted for 34.4% and his 21.6%. Streaming viewership has surpassed broadcast viewership before, but this is the first time that cable viewership has surpassed cable viewership at the same time. According to a Variety article, Netflix holds his largest share of total TV viewing among his streaming platforms at 8%, a record for a service. That’s because “Stranger Things 4” alone saw about 18 billion minutes in July, and “Virgin River” and “The Umbrella Academy” combined for about 11 billion minutes.

sauce: variety

Social media is a priority everywhere. Even in nature. Tanzania has installed high-speed internet service on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, allowing anyone to share their trips on his Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp. The state-owned Tanzanian Telecommunications Company installed a broadband network at an altitude of 3,720 meters earlier this week. The country’s information minister added that this was a historic event and that the fast service would also help protect climbers. “Previously, it was a bit dangerous for visitors and porters who had to operate without internet,” he said. In addition, the information minister said a hike of about 6,000 meters to the summit will have internet connectivity by the end of the year.

sauce: Guardian

That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or Google Home Daily Briefing.Be sure to sign up Daily IT Wire Receive our newsletter to receive all the important news directly in your inbox every day. Also, check out the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which airs every Thursday morning. If you have any suggestions or tips, let us know in the comments or email us. Thanks for listening, I’m Tom Lee.