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Op-Ed: I Believe President-Elect Donald Trump Will Save TikTok In The US

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. TikTok may go dark in the United States. As a former TikTok employee, the way the ban will work here in the United States will be different than the one in India in 2020. The first difference is the politics surrounding why the bans are happening in the two countries in the first place. In India, the ban was less about TikTok and more so about the strained relationship between India and China. The root of their strain comes from the dispute that China and India have related to who owns Aksai Chin, which India claims to be part of its Ladakh region. China has claimed the land since 1962 and the Sino-Indian War. Due to the longstanding tensions between the two countries since, India opted to use economic tools against China, which in this case meant banning Chinese companies from doing business in India. When TikTok was banned from India so were WeChat, Alibaba, and Xiaomi. In the United States,...

Jan 18, 2025

Amazon Updates Company Policy, And Its Sections Titled 'Equity For Black People' And 'LGBTQ+ Rights' No Longer Exist

Amazon has updated its company policy and a section of its website that provides employment information, removing language that ensures protection for Black and LGBTQ+ employees. In late December 2024, the company removed statements supporting and advocating for transgender rights protections as well as expressing “solidarity” with Black employees and customers, according to The Washington Post. Amazon also removed language supporting laws to address misconduct and racial bias in policing, initiatives to protect and expand voting rights , and efforts to promote better health and educational opportunities for Black people. The sections titled “Equity for Black People” and “LGBTQ+ Rights” no longer exist in the company’s policy, along with all references to the term “transgender.” The “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” section now states that “inequitable treatment of anyone — including Black people, LGBTQ+ people, Asians, women, and others — is unacceptable.” A page once titled...

Jan 17, 2025

Supreme Court Upholds Law That Would Ban TikTok In The US Unless Its Parent Company Sells

The Supreme Court upholds the U.S. bill that would essentially ban TikTok. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Court demonstrated that it was “likely” to rule in favor of banning the application owned by ByteDance. A ban would result in the app no longer being available in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and over time U.S. users who have already downloaded the app would no longer be able to make system updates. TikTok has said the app would be wiped from phones if the ban is enforced. The Supreme Court’s stance supports a bipartisan bill that had been signed in April 2024 by President Joe Biden requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok to a U.S.-based company or face a ban of the app, according to NPR. There were national security concerns by the president and Congress surrounding China’s data access and the spreading of misinformation. TikTok is not in favor of the ban that would go into effect Sunday, Jan. 19, as its owners believe a ban restricts free speech. “The Supreme...

Jan 17, 2025

Op-Ed: Trump’s Tariffs Could Be Good For Tech But Not For America

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Donald Trump will soon start his second term as president of the United States and will have to show the people who voted for him that he will follow through on promises made on the campaign trail. He promised to raise tariffs on exports from countries like China to prioritize American workers and companies here in the United States. Given how impactful tariffs can be on certain countries and within certain areas of the tech industry, it is best to prepare ahead of time for how those tariffs will change the industry and affect opportunities. Tariffs are an additional tax added on a country’s imports or exports. Trump’s relationship with tariffs started during his first administration, and they were primarily targeted at China. The first exports he put tariffs on were solar panels and washing machines at a rate of 20%-50% in January 2018 , which affected China and other countries. He subsequently...

Jan 14, 2025

Meta Discontinues DEI Programs Just Days After The Company's CEO Announces The End Of Its Fact-Checking System

Meta has joined the ranks of major companies that are scaling back or, in its case, terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. In a memo sent on Friday, Jan. 10, through Meta’s internal communications tool Workplace, Janelle Gale, the company’s vice president of human resources, announced updates to “our hiring, development, and procurement practices,” effective immediately, according to Axios. “The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” Gale wrote in the memo. “The Supreme Court of the United States has recently made decisions signaling a shift in how courts will approach DEI. … The term ‘DEI’ has also become charged, in part because it is understood by some as a practice that suggests preferential treatment of some groups over others.” Going forward, Meta will no longer have a dedicated DEI team. Maxine Williams, the company’s standing chief diversity officer, will transition to a new...

Jan 10, 2025

Supreme Court Hears Arguments Over Law That Could Soon Ban TikTok In The U.S.

The Supreme Court convened at 10 a.m. EST on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, to hear arguments regarding a law that could potentially ban TikTok in the United States. According to NBC News., lawyers for TikTok, some of its users, and the Biden administration are presenting their oral arguments before the conservative-majority court’s nine justices. A preliminary decision may be reached within days, if not hours, after the oral arguments conclude. Chinese Internet entrepreneur Zhang Yiming co-founded TikTok in 2012 as part of technology company ByteDance, per its website. The social media platform’s algorithm provides users with short-form video content tailored to their interests. NBC reported that Yiming launched TikTok in the U.S. in 2018. It has since become increasingly popular, boasting 170 million American users. Following concerns that the app was a national security threat, the U.S. government, with broad bipartisan support, passed a law requiring ByteDance to divest from the company...

Jan 10, 2025

Op-Ed: I Think Donald Trump's AI Policies Could Lead The AI Bubble To Burst

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Overhyped tech sectors of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence have seen a recent resurgence in the past year. Most of AI’s rise can be attributed to the hype and fear that surrounds its use. If you ask OpenAI CEO Sam Altman his thoughts, he’ll tell you that AI is needed to bring us into the future, but to scientists like Dr. Joy Buolamwini who approaches the use of AI cautiously, its lack of regulation can prove harmful to people of color. Despite doubts about the use of AI technology, it’s become almost ubiquitous in culture. Students have used ChatGPT for essay assignments, workers are using ChatGPT to write emails , and others have suggested using AI to create something as simple as grocery lists and corresponding menus. But even as AI and cryptocurrency continue to experience unprecedented growth, experts predict that AI will reach its peak in 2025 and then burst. Still, a second Donald...

Jan 9, 2025

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Announces The End Of Its 'Too Politically Biased' Fact-Checking System Ahead Of Trump's Inauguration

Meta is discontinuing its fact-checking system. On Tuesday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan announced that the tech giant would transition to a community notes model — similar to the system on Elon Musk’s X — to “restore free expression,” according to a news release. “Meta’s platforms are built to be places where people can express themselves freely,” said Kaplan in the release. “That can be messy. On platforms where billions of people can have a voice, all the good, bad, and ugly is on display. But that’s free expression.” Kaplan noted that societal and political pressure to moderate content has pushed the company to develop increasingly complex systems to manage content across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram , in recent years. “Too much harmless content gets censored, too many people find themselves wrongly locked up in ‘Facebook jail,’ and we are often too slow to respond when they do,” he added. Zuckerberg also believes the...

Jan 7, 2025

Op-Ed: Can Corporate DEI Survive A Second Donald Trump Presidency Term?

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Corporate companies have gutted and targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs throughout 2024. As we head into 2025, efforts to reverse these changes will only increase. DEI programs have been the center of several political battles since Republicans wrongfully came to attack critical race theory. Just as conservatives have a woeful misunderstanding of critical race theory and where it applies, DEI has become a buzzword associated with the aforementioned cultural wars. What Is DEI? DEI initiatives are implemented in schools, businesses, and government agencies to address inequities within historically marginalized groups. According to Erica Foldy, a professor at NYU’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, initiatives could include training, organizational policies and practices, and organizational culture. DEI isn’t just a rule or legislation created for organizations to pat...

Dec 31, 2024

Mexico Launches Mobile App To Support Migrants Facing Imminent US Detainment As President-Elect Trump Pledges Mass Deportations

Mexico is launching a new initiative to help migrants alert local consulates if they believe they are about to be detained in the United States. The country is developing a mobile app called “Alert Button,” which, in addition to alerting consulates, will also allow Mexican nationals who fear imminent detention to notify pre-selected family members and report the situation to its secretary of foreign affairs, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, ABC News reported . De la Fuente announced the app is intended for “emergency cases” and is expected to be available in January 2025, coinciding with the beginning of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration . The secretary also outlined additional protective measures, emphasizing that to deport someone from the U.S., “you need a court order, a final sentence of deportation or removal, and that is where the consular team will be very aware that due process is complied with,” according to ABC. Trump has repeatedly pledged to launch mass deportations...

Dec 30, 2024

Op-Ed: Amazon, Meta, And Other Tech CEOs Allegedly Didn't Approve Of Donald Trump, Now They're Some Of His Biggest Donors Post-Election

Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™. Americans aren’t the only ones prepping for another tedious four years under President-elect Donald Trump. Since the results of the 2024 election projected Donald Trump as the winner, tech leaders from companies like Meta, Amazon, OpenAI, and others have shelled out seven-figure investments to Trump’s inaugural fund. According to CBS News, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has donated $1 million and plans to stream the inauguration on Prime. Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, will donate $1 million, along with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who delivered an optimistic statement about the President-elect’s election win. “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead,” Altman said in a statement, per The Associated Press. Elon Musk, CEO of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, and general pop culture menace has been a lurking presence...

Dec 26, 2024

SoftBank Stocks Rise Over 4% As CEO Announces $100 Billion Investment With Trump Administration

If you’ve been following the stock market in recent days you may already be familiar with SoftBank, a multinational internet services and investment firm operating out of Japan. The business has received a ton of press since Monday morning after CEO Masayoshi Son announced a proposed $100 billion in investments over the next four calendar years. This plan, which was developed in collaboration with the incoming Trump administration , is projected to create 100,000 new jobs within the United States, particularly in artificial intelligence and similar internet-based infrastructure. Per the Wall Street Journal , SoftBank’s stock (SFTBY) received a massive bump in the day following the announcement, accounting for a 4.4 percent rise in the Japanese market and a 1.3 percent rise on the New York Stock Exchange . To better understand exactly what this means for our country, infrastructure and the stock market of today, we’ll have to take a moment to examine SoftBank’s business model and...

Dec 18, 2024

Kamala Harris’ Campaign Reportedly Paid $1M To Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions During Her Election Run

Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign made significant payments to the production companies of Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé. Campaign finance records from the Federal Election Commission show that Parkwood Production Media LLC, Beyoncé’s production company, received $165,000 on Nov. 19, 2024, according to USA Today. The payment arrived roughly a month after the singer appeared alongside Harris at a campaign event in Houston, TX, her hometown. While Beyoncé did not perform at the Oct. 25, 2024, event at Shell Energy Stadium, she and her Destiny’s Child groupmate Kelly Rowland publicly endorsed Harris in front of the roughly 30,000 attendees. The event focused on reproductive rights , a key issue Harris emphasized on the campaign trail. On Oct. 15, 2024, Harris’ campaign also paid $1 million — split into two $500,000 payments — to Harpo Productions, Winfrey’s media company, USA Today reports. Winfrey explained that the money was for Harpo’s work producing Harris’ “Unite for America”...

Dec 11, 2024

Everything We Know About Trump Media's Potential Plans For Bakkt

His inauguration is still weeks away, but since championing the 2024 election , Donald Trump has been making his presence felt across America. The East Coast native has big plans to implement changes across the nation, from teaming up with Robert F. Kennedy on health initiatives to making cryptocurrency more accessible. On Monday, Nov. 18, it was revealed that Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) is in “advanced talks” to acquire Bakkt (BKKT), a well-established crypto exchange company not long after the president-elect launched his World Liberty Financial initiative. The former is majority-owned by NYSE parent company Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) which is led by CEO Jeff Sprecher, husband of former Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler, who was also co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee . Neither Bakkt nor its future potential owners have confirmed the Financial Times ‘ reports just yet, but there have been notable jumps in both stocks since the rumor mill began turning this week....

Nov 21, 2024

The Federal Reserve Has Lowered Interest Rates Again, But Uncertainty For The Future Still Remains

Interest rates have been cut once again by the Federal Reserve. According to CNBC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System voted to lower interest rates to a range between 4.5% to 4.75%.  It had previously lowered rates in March 2024, which had been the first time since 2020, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. While this may seem like a hopeful sign, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell shared mixed views about the economy. CNBC mentions Powell expressed “feeling good” about the economy, but also shared the following remarks during a press conference on Thursday, Nov. 7. “The federal government’s fiscal path, fiscal policy, is on an unsustainable path,” Powell said. “The level of our debt relative to the economy is not unsuitable, the path is unsustainable. And we see that in a very large deficit, you’re at full employment [and] that’s expected to continue, so it’s important that be dealt with. It is ultimately a threat to the economy.” Other economists are weighing in on...

Nov 8, 2024