TikTok Banned on Gov’t Devices in NYC

The question of TikTok’s future is back in the news following word that New York City has banned it from government-issued devices.

The ban, which was announced last week and went into effect immediately, requires city agencies to remove the app from all devices within 30 days.

“While social media is great at connecting New Yorkers with one another and the city, we have to ensure we are always using these platforms in a secure manner,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement to The Verge. “NYC Cyber Command regularly explores and advances proactive measures to keep New Yorkers’ data safe.”

New York State banned TikTok on government-issued devices back in 2020.

With Engagement Still Declining, Threads Rolls Out New Features

It would seem that the Threads hype train has run out of steam.

As engagement continues to decline, Meta’s competitor to X (the app formerly known as Twitter) is reportedly working to develop new facets to keep users coming back. One such development, shared in a screenshot by app researcher Alessandro Paluzzi (ironically, on X), is the ability to attach voice clips to posts.

That may not sound terribly enticing, but as Social Media Today explains, it looks like a broader play for international markets. “While voice notes are not a big deal for most Western users, where voice elements are important is in regions where many languages are spoken, yet not everyone can write each as fluently,” says the Social Media Today article.

“In India, for example, there are over 100 languages spoken throughout the nation, and while many have learned to communicate in different audible forms, literacy levels are not as high. As such, voice notes serve a direct, practical purpose, and could help to maximize the use of social apps among billions of people.

“So yeah, it may be no big deal for you, but it’s potentially a massive addition to facilitate broader adoption.”

In addition, Instagram head Adam Mosseri shared the news that a desktop version of Threads, which would make it easier for journalists and social media managers to be more active on the app throughout the day, is close—but still needs a bit more work.

But the question is, will updates like these be enough to keep Threads around?

TikTok Makes Foray Into In-App Shopping

TikTok has officially launched an e-commerce platform, TikTok Shop, giving creators more ways to earn money by selling their products directly through the app.

TikTok may not be the first social media app to offer this experience (Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, among others, have experimented with it), yet TikTok Shop feels like a natural extension to a place where products are a bit part of the conversation—remember the viral hashtag #tiktokmademebuyit?

While we await the success of TikTok’s e-commerce efforts, Digiday has a worthy read on what it could mean for marketers and content creators.

(Photo: Getty Images Plus/pressureUA)

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