The United States House of Representatives has taken a decisive step against the popular social media app TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, by passing a crucial bill. This legislation compels ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations within six months or face a nationwide ban.

Legislative moves against TikTok amid 2024 election concerns

The bill’s passage signifies a crucial moment in the ongoing discourse over balancing national security with free expression and innovation rights. It spotlights the intricate motivations behind the proposed ban, the political dynamics involved, and the extensive implications for U.S. tech policy and the landscape of global digital governance.

Central to the initiative to ban TikTok is the escalating concern among U.S. lawmakers regarding the app’s potential exploitation by the Chinese government. According to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, U.S. officials have raised alarms about TikTok’s management being “beholden to the Chinese government,” emphasizing concerns.

The U.S. Department of Justice amplifies these concerns with warnings about the risks posed by ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters to American users’ privacy and data security, in the context of China’s notoriety for surveillance and censorship.

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Reuters has highlighted that the bill’s passage is a clear display of significant bipartisan agreement in an otherwise divided political environment, securing an overwhelming majority with 352 votes for and 65 against. Sponsored by Mike Gallagher, the Republican head of the House’s select committee on China, and Democrat Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, the legislation has garnered extensive support across party lines, though it has faced some opposition.

Implementing the ban: Challenges and implications

Arizona Senate candidate, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez highlighted, “There are serious antitrust and privacy questions here, and any national security concerns should be laid out to the public prior to a vote.” This situation underscores the complex interplay of technology, privacy, and national security in legislative processes.

Implementing such a ban presents practical hurdles. Questions linger about whether China would permit the sale of TikTok’s U.S. assets or if such a divestiture could realistically be achieved within the designated timeframe.

Furthermore, the ban would impose restrictions on app stores and web hosting services, potentially transforming the manner—or indeed, the possibility—of TikTok’s access by U.S. users. This strategy echoes actions taken by nations like India and Nepal, which have cited national security reasons for banning TikTok, and mirrors measures by the U.S. and its allies to restrict the app on government-owned devices.

The potential prohibition of TikTok bears significant political weight, especially with the 2024 election on the horizon. TikTok has become a critical platform for engaging younger voters, which has traditionally leaned towards the Democratic Party. The active use of TikTok by the Biden campaign illustrates the app’s pivotal role in connecting with this demographic.

Nonetheless, as House Republicans point out, this proposed ban could signify ‘the most substantial threat to the app since the Trump administration,’ potentially stripping the Democrats of a vital engagement tool.

Senate’s deliberation on TikTok: The road ahead in 2024 and beyond

As this bill heads to the Senate, its future is uncertain. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has indicated that the Senate will deliberate on the legislation, albeit without a definitive schedule. Senator Maria Cantwell, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has voiced a preference for “legislation that can withstand judicial scrutiny,” suggesting a thorough and cautious evaluation of the bill’s implications. This sentiment mirrors a broader aspiration among senators to address threats from foreign apps in a comprehensive manner, avoiding piecemeal legislative efforts.

The TikTok debate encapsulates the broader challenges facing digital platform regulation in an era marked by intense global technology competition and digital sovereignty concerns. TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s engagements on Capitol Hill, where he cautioned that the bill “could lead to TikTok’s ban in the United States,” underscore the high stakes for the company and its millions of American users. Senator Ron Wyden’s remark that “history teaches us that haste in tech legislation often leads to errors” emphasizes the importance of deliberate and informed policy-making.

TikTok CEO speaks on the ban in the U.S. (Source – X)

This legislative push against TikTok marks a pivotal point in the intersection of technology, politics, and national security. With bipartisan momentum to mitigate perceived threats from foreign-owned applications, the outcome of this endeavor will profoundly affect the future of digital communication, political mobilization, and international relations in the digital epoch. As the Senate contemplates its next steps, the broader discussion on balancing security concerns against the benefits of a globally interconnected digital ecosystem continues to evolve.

The looming decision on TikTok’s fate in the United States is a testament to the complex interplay between constitutional freedoms and cybersecurity imperatives. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s cautious stance on advancing the bill, juxtaposed with President Biden’s readiness to sign it into law, highlights the nuanced deliberations that define the legislative process.

This scenario is reminiscent of previous attempts to regulate TikTok, including an executive order by former President Donald Trump that encountered legal obstacles. Public sentiment on TikTok remains divided, reflecting broader debates on privacy, security, and freedom of expression in the digital age.

In response to the legislative proceedings, TikTok has launched an extensive lobbying campaign, emphasizing the platform’s commitment to data security and its integral role in the lives of millions for personal and business purposes. This includes engaging its vast creator community, though this strategy has faced criticism. The potential hurdles for TikTok extend beyond legislative challenges, encompassing antitrust concerns and the complexities of divesting U.S. operations under the scrutiny of both U.S. and Chinese authorities.

The business community and investors are keenly observing these developments, considering ByteDance’s valuation and the broader implications for the digital market landscape. Should the bill become law, it would signify a pivotal shift in how social media platforms operate within the U.S., potentially redefining the digital space for American users and content creators alike.

The discourse surrounding TikTok’s proposed ban highlights the ongoing tensions between technological innovation and regulatory oversight and signals a potential shift in the digital competitive landscape. A ban could inadvertently benefit competitors like Meta’s Instagram Reels, illustrating the intricate dynamics in the global tech ecosystem. This scenario underlines the wide-ranging consequences of regulatory actions, shaping the future of digital interaction, political discourse, and international tech competition.

The global dimension of TikTok’s regulatory challenges

Beyond the United States, TikTok faces regulatory scrutiny worldwide, emphasizing the global dimension of its challenges.

Italy’s antitrust authority has imposed a fine of 10 million euros (US$10.94 million) on TikTok for not sufficiently monitoring content that could harm minors or vulnerable individuals. TikTok, a subsidiary of the Chinese corporation ByteDance, faces global regulatory scrutiny, alongside other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, to enhance protection for underage users.

The Italian watchdog criticized TikTok for not effectively preventing the distribution of dangerous content, such as videos promoting the ‘French scar’ challenge, and for failing to adhere to its safety assurances. Despite TikTok’s claim of limiting the visibility of such videos to users under 18, Italy’s AGCOM demanded their removal last month, criticizing TikTok for failing to effectively prevent the distribution of dangerous content and for not adhering to its own safety assurances.

In addition to Italy’s actions, TikTok is confronting challenges in the United States, where a proposed bill could ban the app unless ByteDance divests its U.S. operations within six months, reflecting ongoing national security concerns over Chinese technology.

Simultaneously, Canada is examining TikTok’s expansion proposal for national security implications, which might lead to mitigation requests or block the expansion. This scrutiny comes as Canada previously prohibited TikTok on government devices due to privacy and security risks, and its privacy commissioner is investigating the app’s data practices. Despite these challenges, TikTok has expressed its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of its platform for users in Canada.

Canada reviewing TikTok’s expansion plan (Source – Shutterstock)

As we move towards the 2024 election, the future of TikTok is becoming a hot topic amid legislative scrutiny and concerns over national security. With bipartisan worries about data privacy and security front and center, this legislation has kicked off a nuanced debate about the role of digital platforms in the U.S. As this conversation unfolds, it’s set to have significant implications for the digital competitive scene, political dialogue, and how Americans interact with social media as the election gets closer. It’s a complex issue that’s drawing a lot of attention, shaping up to be a key discussion point as we head into the next election cycle.

The post What’s happening with TikTok as 2024 progresses? Is a ban in the U.S. imminent? appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

New York City has become the latest in the US to ban TikTok on government devices. Citing security concerns, New York joins a list of several other states in the US that have banned the Chinese-owned social media app.

According to a report by Reuters, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement that TikTok “posed a security threat to the city’s technical networks.” The city has required all agencies to remove the app within 30 days. Interestingly, New York state had already banned TikTok on state-issued mobile devices for more than three years, with some exceptions.

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Earlier this year, Montana became the first state in the US to pass a law to ban TikTok on all devices in the state. Some content creators are suing the state to block the ban.

TikTok continues to emphasize that it has not shared and will not share US user data with the Chinese government. The social media app has also taken significant measures to protect the privacy and security of TikTok users.

There are currently about 80 million active TikTok users in the US, with Gen Zs making up 60% of users. TikTok’s revenue in the US is also one of the highest. In the year 2000, the company generated about US$500 million in revenue.

While some content creators continue to protest calls for a full TikTok ban in the US, a new poll by Reuters and Ipsos showed that close to half of American adults support a ban on the Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.

Results from the poll showed that 47% of the respondents said they at least somewhat supported “banning TikTok from use in the United States,” while 36% opposed a ban and 17% said they didn’t know. Another breakdown showed that 58% of Republicans favored a ban, compared to 47% of Democrats.

More calls for TikTok to be banned in US.

For context, the call for a TikTok ban in the US started when former US President Donald Trump sought to bar new downloads of TikTok in the year 2000. However, a series of court decisions blocked the ban from taking effect. Since then, more leaders in the US have called for the app to be reviewed or banned.

FBI director Christopher Wray told a committee hearing in March this year that China’s government could use the social media platform to control software on millions of devices, while CIA Director William Burns said that China’s government could use TikTok to control software on millions of devices and drive narratives to divide Americans.

In March this year, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony before Congress did little to assuage U.S. worries over TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance and added fresh momentum to lawmakers’ calls to ban the platform nationwide.

TikTok ban outside of the US

It remains to be seen if TikTok will face a full ban in the US. However, several other countries have also banned the app from being used on government devices. Some countries have even banned public access to the app.

In Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand have banned TikTok on government devices. India was one of the first countries to ban TikTok permanently in January 2021. According to reports, the ban came after a dispute between India and China. Apart from TikTok, India has also banned several other Chinese social media apps and even mobile phone games, citing espionage and security concerns.

Taiwan also introduced a government device ban in December and has been considering a larger ban on the app amid tensions with China over its stated independence.

In Southeast Asia, Indonesia had initially banned the app citing pornographic content as the reason but lifted the ban after coming to a censorship agreement with TikTok.

The EU has also banned TikTok on government devices, while the UK and Canada have also joined the list of countries banning the social media app on government devices.

What can TikTok do?

In June this year, TikTok released a statement on its privacy and data security practices. The statement was meant to set the record straight about the information it collects and how the information is used, shared, and protected.

On location and GPS data, TikTok stated, “The TikTok app is not unique in the amount of information it collects. In line with industry practices, we collect information that users choose to provide to us and information that helps the app function, operate securely, and improve people’s experience. In certain regions such as the United States, Australia, and South Korea, the current versions of the TikTok app do not collect precise or approximate GPS information from users.”

On keystrokes, the social media company said it collects certain keystroke patterns or rhythms for security and performance-related purposes, such as verifying the authenticity of an account, risk control, debugging, troubleshooting, and monitoring for proper performance.

The app also stated that it does not use face or voice data to uniquely identify someone. “We collect and use face and voice information for filters and effects, for safety and user experience, to recommend and moderate content, and for analytics and demographic classification, such as inferred age range,” it stated.

However, all this may not be enough as the app continues to face challenges and could eventually face a full ban in the US in the near future.

The post New York City the latest in US to ban TikTok on government devices appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

As Baidu unveiled its ERNIE Bot, which many believe is currently China’s best option to compete with Google and Microsoft, there were mixed reactions in the industry. While Baidu themselves have admitted that the product is still in the process of being perfected for usage, the general feeling is that Microsoft and Google seem to be leading the race currently.

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What’s more interesting is that Huawei, another huge Chinese tech company, has said that it will not be looking into the ChatGPT race for the time being. Instead, the tech giant feels that it has more important areas to focus on and improve, a decision that makes sense but could come back to haunt them in the future.

But generative AI is just one small problem between the US and China. The bigger concern right now is TikTok. As one of the world’s biggest social media platforms with over a billion users, TikTok has been the subject of a potential complete ban in the United States since President Trump was in office.

Now it seems more than likely to happen. Already banned from use on government devices in the country, the US Congress had a five-hour grilling session with TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi last week. The concerns that TikTok’s parent company, China’s ByteDance, is collecting data on its users and spying on them have been ongoing for some time.

This is not the first piece of Chinese technology that is banned in the US, and it will most likely not be the last as well. Several other countries have also joined the US in banning TikTok from government devices. It is also important to note that as the US started imposing sanctions and a ban on Chinese technology, China also banned US technology in its country. Google, Facebook, and several other US apps and websites have been banned or removed their services from the country for more than a decade.

Interestingly, while the clock seems to be ticking for TikTok in the US, it’s a totally different scenario for Apple in China. Unlike TikTok, Apple is already looking to move production out of China, with Vietnam and India seen as alternatives.

However, when CEO Tim Cook was in China over the weekend for the China Development Forum, the reception was totally different. Cook commented that Apple enjoys a “symbiotic” relationship with China and also stated that “Apple and China grew together” during an interview on the role of technology in education.

“This has been a symbiotic kind of relationship that I think we both enjoyed,” he said at the state-run event attended by top government officials and corporate leaders. Cook’s visit comes as Apple, the world’s biggest company by market value, saw its sales hit by curtailed production at factories as a result of China’s zero-Covid policy.

US export controls on high-tech components are also threatening the company’s supply chain. Cook did not address supply chain issues during his discussion. Instead, he focused on the need to bridge the education gap between urban and rural schools and encouraged young people to learn programming and critical thinking skills.

He also pledged to increase Apple’s spending on its rural education program in China to 100 million yuan (US$15 million). Cook visited an Apple Store in downtown Beijing on Friday, and a photo of him posing for a selfie with singer Huang Ling has gone viral on Chinese social media.

Bloomberg reported that Cook also met with Chinese government officials during his trip as he looks to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with them.

Meanwhile, back in the US, there is a growing demand for ByteDance to sell the social media company, or risk facing a ban. However, a ban in the US could have a huge impact, as most of TikTok’s quarter-million users have American firms providing services associated with the app as well.

Whatever happens, both Apple and TikTok are now just carrying on business as usual as both the US and China continue to figure out how to solve the issue.

prw/mca

With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse

The post As the US grills TikTok CEO, China welcomes Apple CEO appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the US, India and China were competing with each other for technical superiority in each sector. Be it quantum computing, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, or semiconductors, each country had its own master plan for achieving its goals.

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While India may seem to be trailing behind China and the US, its capabilities in matching China’s manufacturing strength, adaptability and growing tech population is making the country quickly become a tech giant nation itself. In fact, India’s semiconductor industry is growing rapidly, while its EV ambitions are now being taken seriously around the globe.

Despite the competition between the three countries, there are still concerns among them when it comes to using technology from China. Both the US and India continue to take action against Chinese technologies that are being used in their countries, with some applications and tech brands even being banned.

The Indian government has already banned apps that are Chinese-owned since June 2020. This includes social media apps like TikTok, WeChat, Bigo Live as well as gaming apps like PUBG. Citing privacy and espionage concerns, the banning of China technology products has even raised concerns that Chinese-made mobile phones, which are extremely popular in India, facing similar situations as well.

Now, India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT has begun a process to ban and block 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links, according to a report by Reuters. The ban comes under India’s IT law that allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security.

When it comes to mobile devices, the Indian government has stated that Chinese smartphone companies like Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi will not be banned in the country. The government has also asked smartphone makers to increase exports from India.

It’s a similar scenario in the US as well. While China has banned Google and several other tech sites in the country, the US has imposed similar sanctions on Chinese apps. TikTok continues to face challenges operating there with the app already banned from usage on government devices in several states. The House of Representatives will also be looking to vote for a complete ban of the app in March this year. Given the US being the country with the most TikTok users, it remains to be seen how the ban will go down with users in the country.

When it comes to hardware, Huawei seems to be the main target. While many criticized former US President Donald Trump’s actions towards the tech company, current US President Joe Biden seems to be continuing the legacy as well. Most of Huawei’s hardware is already banned in the US, and also by some of its allies, but there are now reports that a complete ban on the tech company could be on the horizon as well.

So with the US and India giving Chinese technology a hard time, China may just find its redeemer in Southeast Asia. The fastest growing economic region in the world is already witnessing rapid technology adoption, thanks to its capabilities of using new technologies with minimal legacy technology.

China’s Huawei and Alibaba have already made significant investments in Southeast Asia and are expected to continue to develop their business in the region. Huawei specifically is looking at providing its 5G infrastructure to both mainland Southeast Asia and also the thousands of islands in the region.

TikTok parent company ByteDance has also increased its investments in the region. The company has already announced plans for new data centers and is also looking to cater more products to meet the demands of local customers. In fact, TikTok’s gross merchandise volume in Southeast Asia reached US$4.4 billion in 2022.

While some ASEAN nations are concerned by China’s continued dominance over the South China Sea, the investments China is bringing to nations in the region are seemingly enabling them to grow and remain influential in the region. Countries like Vietnam, Laos and Thailand continue to enjoy the benefits of Chinese investments in their nation.

For Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, China remains an essential trade partner to them. It is also important to note that all of the nations in Southeast Asia want to maintain their good relationships with the US and India as well. Unlike most US allies, ASEAN’s relationship with China remains positive which is why the country could end up finding the region its biggest redeemer for its technology in the near future.

The post As India and US look to ban Chinese technology, will Southeast Asia be China’s redeemer? appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Tech giant Sea, which is backed by China’s Tencent, has apologized to users in India after its popular Free Fire game was reportedly among dozens of apps hit with a ban on national security concerns. Free Fire is one of the most downloaded mobile games in India.

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Several news reports stated that apps from Tencent and Baidu were also among those affected.

New Delhi has previously banned more than 260 Chinese apps also citing national security concerns, including video-sharing platform TikTok and popular game PUBG, prompting fury from Beijing.

Other Chinese apps that are banned in India include e-Commerce site Shein, messaging application WeChat, mobile gaming app Mobile Legends, and Chinese tweeting platform Weibo.

Video editing apps such as Viva Video Editor- Snack Video Maker with Music and Nice Video Baidu, which are used extensively for making short videos, games such as Onmyoji Chess and Conquer Online II have also been banned in India.

Garena, the gaming subsidiary of Singapore-based Sea, did not confirm a ban had been imposed but said in a statement that it was “aware that Free Fire is currently unavailable in the Google Play and iOS app stores in India and that the game is currently not operable for some users in the country”.

“We are working to address this situation, and we apologize to our users for any inconvenience,” said the statement.

Sea’s shares dived 18.4% in New York on Monday following reports of the ban. Indian authorities were not immediately available for comment.

But the IT ministry told the Hindustan Times newspaper the apps collected sensitive data, which was “transmitted to servers located in (a) hostile country” and could be used “for activities detrimental to national security”.

Sea’s founders are Chinese-born and became Singaporean citizens. Chinese tech behemoth Tencent has an 18.7% stake in the firm.

According to a Bloomberg report, Free Fire, the battle royale shooter often compared with PUBG, is among the world’s most popular mobile games with more than a billion downloads on Google Play. The title has underpinned the phenomenal growth of Singapore-based Sea, Southeast Asia’s most valuable company, and its expansion into markets from Brazil to India.

sr/dan

© Agence France-Presse

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No clear reason was given for the ban, which came into force shortly after Interior Minister Rehman Malik said there were no plans to block Twitter.

Correspondents say it appeared to stem from tweets about a 2010 competition on Facebook to submit images of the Prophet Muhammad.

Islam forbids images of the prophet.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) lifted the ban on Sunday, about eight hours after it came into force.

No reason was given for the about-turn.

The ministry of information technology had talked of “blasphemous and inflammatory content” on Twitter.

On Saturday, PTA chairman Mohammed Yaseen told the Associated Press (AP) on Saturday that Twitter was blocked after it refused to remove the material.

A few hours earlier, Mr Malik had tweeted: “Dear all, I assure u that Twitter and FB will continue in our country and it will not be blocked. Pl do not believe in rumors,” it said.

US-based Human Rights Watch called the ban “ill-advised, counterproductive and futile”.

Despite the ban, AP reported that many people in Pakistan were still been able to access Twitter by using software that disguises the user’s location.

In 2010, Pakistan blocked access to about 1,000 websites because of the “Draw Prophet Muhammad Day” competition on Facebook.

That ban remained in place for about a fortnight until Facebook blocked access to the controversial page in Pakistan.

Via BBC News.

The post Pakistan Restores Twitter Access After Block appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

(Image Credit: ShutterStock)

Two news stories which popped up in my aggregators make a curious tone when put together. 104 sites were banned a few months back for serving pirated content. One of these banned sites, smashits.com is now seeking licenses for the music it serves. The music industry might have found one additional, albeit smaller, source of revenue.

1 in 104 – Not a bad proposition.

Another story posted by Medianama reports that Anna Bond mp3 results were removed from Google’s searches following a DMCA complaint from Anand Audio. As many as 80 links were removed.

Both the stories have positives to talk about. One involved going all the way through to the legal proceedings. Another involved a simple request to the search engine. There might be solace for the media industry between legal proceedings, DMCA complaints and selling music online through services like Flyte of Flipkart.

Now don’t think that this will be the end of piracy. Far from it. When Songs.pk was banned, it sprouted up again as songspk.pk. Bringing up a website with content can be done in less than an hour but bringing up a court order against a website could take eternity.

Megaupload’s bust had scared quite a few online sites who said they were shutting down voluntarily. My guess is quite a few have popped up too. That’s really how it works.

To draw an analogy, controlling online piracy is like trying to put an army of frogs into a basket. When you have figured out a way to put three in the basket, two frogs pop out and it goes on. Piracy is no different.

Via

The post India’s Fight Against Piracy Continues appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

In this file photo taken on Jan. 26, 2011, a man stands near Apple's iPad advertisement in Shanghai, China. Chinese officials said Monday, Feb. 13, 2012, that investigators in Shijiazhuang, southwest of Beijing, started seizing iPads last week at the request of a company that filed a complaint with the government accusing Apple Inc. of violating its rights to the iPad name. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Shenzhen Proview Technology has asked regulators to seize iPads in China in a possible prelude to pressing Apple Inc. for a payout. There have been seizures in some cities but no sign of action by national-level authorities.

Proview has a strong case under Chinese trademark law, but that could quickly change if Beijing decides to intervene to avoid disrupting iPad sales or exports from factories in southern China where the popular tablet computers are made, legal experts say.

“If this becomes political — and it’s very easy to see this becoming political — then I think Apple’s chances look pretty good,” said Stan Abrams, an American lawyer who teaches intellectual property law at Beijing’s Central University of Finance and Economics.

The dispute centers on whether Apple acquired the iPad name in China when it bought rights in various countries from a Proview affiliate in Taiwan in 2009 for 35,000 British pounds ($55,000).

Apple insists it did. But Proview, which registered the iPad trademark in China in 2001, won a ruling from a mainland Chinese court in December that it was not bound by that sale. Apple appealed and a hearing is scheduled for Feb. 29.

“My gut reaction is that many of these activities really could be seen as pre-settlement brinksmanship,” said David Wolf, a technology marketing consultant in Beijing. “Proview’s motive is money, not to shut down Apple.”

Shenzhen Proview Technology is a subsidiary of LCD screen maker Proview International Holdings Ltd., headquartered in Hong Kong.

Chinese news reports say Proview is deeply in debt, increasing the pressure for it to demand a substantial payout from Apple. Proview International, meanwhile, has been suspended from trading on the Hong Kong stock market since August 2010 and will be removed in June if it cannot show it has sufficient assets, business operations and working capital.

In a rapid-fire series of moves, Proview has filed a trademark-violation lawsuit that goes to court Wednesday in Shanghai.

That deadline is likely to prompt Apple to agree to a settlement within a few days to avoid the uncertainty of a court fight, said Kenny Wong, an intellectual property lawyer for the firm Mayer Brown JSM in Hong Kong.

“I think Apple will be under immense pressure to have this settled as soon as possible,” he said. “Obviously, it depends on the amount the Shenzhen company is asking.”

An Apple spokeswoman in Beijing, Carolyn Wu, declined to comment.

Apple ran into a similar issue before it launched the iPhone in 2007.

Cisco Systems Inc., the maker of networking hardware, had owned the trademark since 2000 and used it for a line of Internet-connected desk phones. Cisco sued, the companies reached an undisclosed settlement and the phone launch went off as planned.

China is Apple’s fastest-growing market and the company already has bigger sales here than any other market except the United States. In the year that ended in September, sales totaled $12.5 billion in China and Hong Kong, nearly 12 percent of revenue.

“We’ve been very, very focused on China,” CEO Tim Cook told investors this week at a conference in San Francisco.

The dispute comes amid complaints Beijing is failing to do enough to stamp out rampant unlicensed Chinese copying and exports of goods ranging from music and Hollywood movies to designer clothing to pharmaceuticals.

But unlike “trademark squatters” who register names of products already sold abroad and then demand foreign companies pay for the Chinese rights, Proview registered the iPad name long before Apple planned its phone.

Apple, based in Cupertino, California, insists it owns the iPad name in China and accuses Proview of failing to live up to the 2009 sales agreement.

Neither company has released that contract, which lawyers said made it impossible to know who has the stronger case.

Apple points to a Hong Kong court ruling in July that said Proview and the Taiwan company both were “clearly under the control” of the same Taiwanese businessman, Yang Long-san, and refused to take steps required to transfer the name under the agreement.

The companies acted together “with the common intention of injuring Apple,” the judge said.

But that was not the final judgment in the case and might not be accepted by mainland courts, because although Hong Kong is a Chinese territory, it has a separate legal system, Wong said.

Proview says it plans to ask China’s customs agency to block imports and exports of iPads.

Such requests are routine under rules enacted to help stamp out rampant Chinese product piracy that has strained relations with the United States and other trading partners.

But enforcing this one could force regulators to confront the cost of disrupting Apple’s business. That might hurt China’s image as a high-tech manufacturing center at a time when foreign producers are being squeezed by rising costs.

All of Apple’s iPads are made in China by Foxconn Technologies Group, which employs more than 1 million people in sprawling factory complexes. Taiwan-based Foxconn previously did all its production in China but Brazil’s government says the company plans to open factories there to produce iPads and other products.

“The government cares about jobs. The government cares about industry. And who is Proview? Nobody cares about Proview,” Abrams said. “Apple is a big employer in this country. If it comes to politics, that is a decent argument.”

Proview has accused Apple of acting dishonestly when it bought rights to the iPad name from the Taiwan company. According to July’s Hong Kong court ruling, Apple set up a company in Britain to buy the iPad trademark from owners in various markets without revealing Apple was the purchaser.

Once the dispute arose, Proview demanded $10 million for the name in China, the court document said.

Apple has other legal options in China, such as asking regulators to cancel Proview’s trademark if it can be shown not to have been used for three years, said Wong. But he said that would take 12 to 18 months, extending the uncertainty for manufacturing and sales.

The post China Faces Conflict of Law, Business in iPad Row appeared first on Tech Wire Asia.

Indian army soldiers march during the main Republic Day parade on Rajpath in New Delhi, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. India is marking it's 62nd Republic Day with parades across the country. The Indian government has recently ordered a ban of social media accounts by army personnel (AP)

This is a complete ban on the use of social networks involves anyone employed in the Indian army. With the ban, all existing social media profiles are ordered to be deleted.

Why Such an Extreme?

The ban isn’t without its reasons. The Indian government has tracked four military personnel who were leaking key information about the locations of warships and other such sensitive intelligence over social networking sites. When national security is at stake, it isn’t such a hard decision.

We all know camera mobile phones aren’t allowed in sensitive areas. For example, Singapore’s army was provided with camera-less iPhones to get around the restriction against having cameras in sensitive installations and still have the luxury of using a smartphone. India’s social media ban is less accommodating. I don’t expect there would be any kind of workarounds to this ban. Maybe the government should conduct boot camps to help the personnel deal with removing their social media profiles.

Megaphones, Bans and Filters

Social media has been posing some big problems to governments across the world. China has disallowed foreign social media sites to set shop in the country. It in turn, this has promoted home-grown social media services which adhere to government’s framework of careful monitoring, and skillful filtering and identity tracking, including the popular Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo. Skype has agreed to do the same in China, though, which means the Microsoft-owned company might be willing to offer concessions in order to enter this huge market.

Twitter has recently introduced a new filtering and censorship policy to make the job of filtering easy for any authority which needs it. It’s anybody’s guess that Twitter wants to enter China very badly. But the filtering facility can be used by any government with equal affect. Thailand has become the first government to actually approve of Twitter’s latest filtering facility.

Natural disasters across the world have proved how effective Twitter can be in such situations. Everybody’s chipper about the new megaphones they were handed. With SOPA, PIPA, and selective filtering by respective countries it’s proving that all the ants with the megaphones could soon be staring at a filtered megaphone.

Next time you try to play a tune on the megaphone which you took for granted for so long, this might be the message:  Sorry I don’t play that tune anymore.

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