ByteDance — Chinese parent company of TikTok, facing multiple US child safety lawsuits and regulatory actions.
News reports
Order a long-term news report on ByteDance
Every mention in the Ghanaian press over the period you choose, compiled as a PDF or Word document.
Verbatim sentences from the source article.
Joy Online
… osed to harmful and inappropriate content in direct violation of Florida law,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “We have zero tolerance for companies that prioritise profit over children’s safety.” The lawsuit seeks a court order directing the platform, which is owned by ByteDance …
Florida sues TikTok, claiming it violates state child safety lawJoy Online
… Such regulations, for instance, meant Beijing’s approval was needed to secure President Donald Trump’s deal to keep TikTok available in the US after its sale by Chinese parent company ByteDance. …
China blocks Meta’s $2bn acquisition of AI start-up ManusMeta has banned advertisements by ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, on Facebook and Instagram in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, effective immediately. The ban also extends to third-party advertisers running campaigns linking to TikTok and other ByteDance properties in those countries.
9 October 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta has banned advertisements by ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, on Facebook and Instagram in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, effective immediately. The ban also extends to third-party advertisers running campaigns linking to TikTok and other ByteDance properties in those countries.
9 October 2026 · Joy Online →
TikTok and ByteDance will pay Alabama $100 million and implement safety features including a two-hour daily usage limit for children, overnight and school-hour restrictions, and age verification measures. The changes apply only to Alabama and mark the platform's first settlement with a US state.
28 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Alphabet's Google will invest at least €13 billion ($15.1 billion) in AI infrastructure in Finland over the next two years, including three new data centres in the north and a 22-year nuclear power purchase agreement for up to 50% of one nuclear plant's energy output. The deal marks Google's biggest European investment and first nuclear energy deal outside the United States.
9 September 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta Platforms has settled claims brought by 29 states that the company designed Instagram and Facebook to addict children, misled consumers about safety, and improperly collected personal data from child users without parental consent. The settlement was reached during a federal court trial in California, averting what would have been a major test of allegations that social media companies harmed young users.
26 August 2026 · Joy Online →
TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to the US to settle allegations that it and parent company ByteDance violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting data on millions of users under 13. The settlement is one of the largest-ever over child privacy issues, following similar violations by YouTube ($170 million in 2019) and Epic Games ($275 million in 2022).
23 August 2026 · Joy Online →
A U.S. appeals court rejected appeals by Meta and TikTok seeking to overturn a lower court ruling requiring them to face more than 3,000 lawsuits alleging the companies designed their products to be addictive to young users. The court ruled that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act provides a defense to liability rather than immunity from lawsuits, making the appeal premature.
11 August 2026 · Joy Online →
TikTok U.S. Chief Security Officer Will Farrell will testify before the U.S. House Select Committee on China on September 15, marking the first public testimony by a TikTok U.S. executive since ByteDance finalized a deal in January to split the app from its global business. The hearing will allow lawmakers to question the company about Chinese involvement and President Donald Trump's role in brokering the separation.
22 July 2026 · Joy Online →
A reconciliation committee of France's Parliament approved a bill to ban social media access for those under 15, with French President Macron seeking implementation by early September. The measure follows Australia's ban for under-16s and comes as European Commission President Von der Leyen has supported similar limits across the EU.
21 July 2026 · Joy Online →
The U.S. Justice Department said federal employees can now download TikTok on government devices, reversing a 2022 ban after ByteDance transferred control of the app's U.S. operations to a joint venture with American investors holding 80.1% ownership and the algorithm secured in Oracle's U.S. cloud.
20 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Meta disclosed in a court filing that four US states are seeking $1.4 trillion in penalties over allegations the company designed Facebook and Instagram to addict young users and misled the public about their safety, ahead of an August trial in Oakland, California.
7 July 2026 · Joy Online →
Florida's attorney general filed a lawsuit claiming TikTok violated the state's law barring social media platforms from allowing children under age 14 to create accounts, alleging the platform allows underage users access and misrepresents exposure to violent or sexual content. TikTok says it is complying with the law and suspending accounts of users under 14 in Florida.
16 June 2026 · Joy Online →
Chinese regulators have prohibited Meta's acquisition of AI start-up Manus, worth approximately $2 billion, citing restrictions on foreign investment in the deal. Meta said the transaction complied with applicable law and anticipates an appropriate resolution.
27 April 2026 · Joy Online →